Beech Lodge, 10 Church Hill, Edinburgh

This is a substantial, two-storey villa dating to circa 1865, situated at 10 Church Hill, Edinburgh, with a three-bay east wing and a coach house attached to the east. It is constructed of cream sandstone, using squared and snecked, stugged rubble with droved ashlar dressings. The exterior features a base course, a band course above the ground floor, a cill bank course at the first floor, and an eaves cornice, with shouldered and corniced ashlar wallhead stacks.

The north (front) elevation is symmetrical, with an advanced, pedimented bay at the centre. This bay has raised angle margins, a doorway with a cornice and blocking course supported by carved consoles, a deep-set panelled door, and a rectangular plate glass fanlight above the door. Single windows are positioned above the doorway and in the outer bays, both at ground and first floor levels. A large, single-storey, flat-roofed side wing, featuring a glazed cupola, extends from the left side, incorporating a coal opening. A smaller single-storey wing is located to the outer right.

The south (rear) elevation comprises a main two-bay block with an M-shaped pitched roof. A two-storey canted window (with a 1-2-1 arrangement) is set into the left bay. The right bay features a rectangular ground-floor projection containing a tall tripartite window, the central light of which has been adapted to form a door; a single window is positioned above at the first floor. A lower, two-storey side wing is positioned to the outer right with single windows and a wallhead stack.

The east elevation incorporates single windows and a secondary door to the side wing, alongside single windows and a central wallhead stack for the main block. The west elevation features a large, lean-to timber conservatory with a canted and gabled porch to the south. The porch is decorated with a stained-glass frieze and cast-iron cresting incorporating a thistle motif. A round-arched stair window is centrally positioned above, featuring coloured glazing and square leaded panes. A central wallhead stack is also present.

A two-storey, gabled gig house, contemporary with the villa, is attached to the east. The front elevation of the gig house has a segmental-arched carriage door and a hayloft door above (now with a modern door). The rear elevation holds an apex stack, a small lean-to extension, and three nesting boxes within the gablehead, indicating a hayloft dovecot.

Timber sash and case windows are used throughout, with four-pane glazing to the front and small-pane and plate glass glazing to the rear. The roof is covered in slate with lead flashings, and there are three wallhead stacks. A moulded eaves gutter runs around the building.

The interior includes a tiled vestibule and hall, and a staircase with a turned iron balustrade.

The property is enclosed by a tall rubble boundary wall to the rear and sides, adorned with semi-circular coping, and a low wall to the front with flat, droved ashlar coping framed by ashlar scrolls.