Home For Sisters Of Charity, 26, 28 Glen Street, Edinburgh

The Home For Sisters Of Charity, located at 26-28 Glen Street, Edinburgh, was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson and built between 1874 and 1877. It originally comprised a Sisters’ House, a school, and a hall, and was later converted into flats and offices in 1985.

The Sisters’ House is a tall, narrow, three-bay, three-storey building with an attic and basement, constructed from squared and snecked yellow sandstone with ashlar dressings. All openings have chamfered reveals. The entrance is in the right bay, framed by a shoulder-arched surround, with a small rectangular window above, sheltered by a pointed-arched hoodmould with label stops left in block. A two-light stone-mullioned and -transomed window is present in the left bay at ground floor, while the centre bay features a stone-transomed window at ground floor. The second and third floors have regularly spaced windows, set within shoulder-arched surrounds. Decorative gableheads break the eaves at attic level above each bay, and these contain small rectangular windows. The ground floor windows have a small-pane glazing pattern, whereas the upper floors have later timber sash and case windows. The roof is covered in grey slates with stone skews. The building is characterized by bevelled ashlar stacks with circular cans.

The Former School and Hall is a two-storey and basement (four-storeys to the rear) building with five bays. It is constructed from squared and snecked stugged sandstone, with coursed rubble to the rear, and ashlar dressings. Again, all openings have chamfered reveals.

The east-facing (Glen Street) elevation has a moulded cill course at the first floor. The two outer left bays at ground floor feature round-arched glazed openings. A glazed door is set within a shoulder-arched opening in the third bay from the left at ground level, with a three-light stone-mullioned window positioned above. The first floor features three, six-light stone-mullioned windows in shoulder-arched surrounds, each with a small rectangular window above, protected by pointed-arched hoodmoulded relieving arches. Hooded dormers are present in the attic. A projecting bay to the right distinguishes itself with a wide chamfered corner on the left and corbelling out at attic level. A two-leaf timber panelled door is located within a stop-chamfered surround under a pointed-arched hoodmoulded relieving arch, offset to the left; a small two-light stone-mullioned window sits above the door at first floor. A stepped two-light stone-mullioned and transomed window, also in shoulder-arched surrounds, is situated at the second floor, with a trefoil window above a hoodmoulded stone relieving arch.

The west-facing (rear) elevation is accessed by a segmental-arched pend from the front basement. A segmental-arched window is located to the right of the pend exit, above which is a three-light stone-mullioned window at the first floor. A two-light stone-mullioned window is to the left bay at the second floor, and another two-light stone-mullioned window is visible in the dormer breaking the eaves above. An eight-light stone-mullioned and -transomed window illuminates the second and third floors to the right. A projecting bay to the right features two small windows at ground floor, a three-light stone-mullioned window and single windows on the returns to the first floor, a three-light stone-mullioned window to the second floor, and a single window to the third floor.

The windows incorporate a mix of original small-pane glazing at the top and larger panes below in timber sash and case windows, with the remainder being modern, pivoting windows. The roof is covered in grey slates.