25 Saxe-Coburg Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh

The building at 23 Saxe-Coburg Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh, is a group of townhouses, originally designed as part of an incomplete U-shaped terrace around a central communal garden. Construction began in 1821 by James Milne, with significant additions and alterations carried out by Adam Ogilvie Turnbull between 1828 and 1834, and later additions in the 19th century to Milne’s designs. Some of the houses have since been converted into flats.

The front elevation is built of roughly-faced sandstone ashlar, while the sides and rear are of squared, coursed sandstone, with polished ashlar detailing. The design incorporates a base course, a band course, rusticated ground floors, an eaves cornice, and a blocking course. Steps and overhanging platforms allow access across the basement levels. The front doors are timber-panelled, each featuring a fanlight above. Most windows are timber sash and case with 12 panes of glass, although some have been replaced with plate glass. The building has coped ridge stacks topped with predominantly yellow clay cans, and grey slate roofs with ashlar-coped gables.

Numbers 23 and 24, designed by Adam Ogilvie Turnbull between 1828 and 1834, are three-storey structures with a basement. The first-floor windows are framed by architraves, and feature semicircular cast-iron balconies on the first floor adorned with a leaf motif. Number 24 retains many original interior features, including a cantilevered stone staircase with decorative cast-iron banisters, a butler’s tray on the first floor, and a cupola. A bow-ended sitting room is located at ground floor level, and the original room layout, including the basement, remains largely unchanged. Most rooms contain fireplaces with cast-iron grates, and decorative plaster cornicing is present throughout. Number 23 was converted into flats in 1938, and while the interior is inaccessible (as of 2007), it is likely to be similar to that of Number 24.

Numbers 25 to 27 were constructed in the later 19th century to designs by James Milne. These are two-storey terraced houses with a basement and attic, and feature a continuous cast-iron balcony along the first-floor windows. Low, hipped dormer windows are set into the attic. Number 27’s interior is largely original, maintaining the cantilevered stone staircase with ornamental cast-iron banisters (though the cupola is a 20th-century replacement), fireplaces with cast-iron grates, and plaster cornicing. Numbers 25 and 26 were converted to flats in 1962.

Numbers 28 to 32, also dating circa 1828 and designed by James Milne with input from Adam Ogilvie Turnbull, are two-storey terraced houses with a basement and attic. Numbers 28 and 32 are slightly more prominent and feature large Ionic pilasters. Number 30 has a mansard roof, while Number 32 has piend-roofed dormers. Cast-iron balconies are present on the first-floor windows. All the houses in this section share a cantilevered stone staircase with cast-iron balusters and a cupola, fine plasterwork, and largely retain the original room layout on the principal floors. Numbers 28, 29, and 32 preserve the original layout of the basement floor, and Numbers 29, 30, and 32 retain some original fireplaces with cast-iron grates. Number 31 was converted to flats in 1962.

Spear-headed cast-iron railings enclose the basement areas and steps, with cast-iron lamp stands positioned at regular intervals. High, coped garden walls of random rubble stone form the boundary at the rear of the properties.