26, 27, 28 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh

26, 27, and 28 Castle Terrace in Edinburgh is a tenement block designed by Sir James Gowans between 1868 and 1870. This seven-bay building features a mansard roof and has a symmetrical layout with distinctive detailing. The central bay rises four stories, with an attic and basement, and is flanked by two five-story octagonal towers topped with crown roofs. The outer bays are three stories high, also with attics and basements.

The building is constructed of polished ashlar stone, with string courses separating the floors and stone-bracketed eaves. The windows are adorned with decorative bracketed surrounds. Stone steps lead to the basement area of the central and penultimate bays on either side, featuring timber panelled doors with round-arched fanlights set in round-arched glazed doorways, which are flanked by sidelights within recesses that have serrated carved decorations in the spandrels.

The outer bays at ground level have tripartite windows, while the first floor showcases shoulder-arched windows with serrated Moorish carvings. The second floor features round-arched windows that push up against the bracketed eaves below the dormers, which are hooded. The octagonal towers have three-light windows with decorative stone mullions.

The windows are made of plate glass set in timber sash and case frames. The roofs are covered with graded grey slates, featuring a moulded stone ridge, stone ribs, finials, and decorative encircling elements. The fluted ashlar stalks have scalloped, bracketed cornices, and decorative octagonal cans with serrated tops.

The property is enclosed by a low ashlar boundary wall topped with decorative cast-iron railings and stone piers that mark the entrances.