Liberton Tower, Liberton Drive, Edinburgh

Liberton Tower is a late-medieval tower house dating from around 1500, located on Liberton Drive in Edinburgh. The building has a rectangular plan and stands four storeys high, constructed of coursed rubble with dressed quoins and openings, including arrow slits and gun-loops. The basement features a barrel-vaulted ceiling, while the upper storey has a pointed tunnel vault. Originally, access to the first floor was through a round-arched door on the east side. The tower has timber floors that once formed two additional storeys between the vaults, but these are now missing. The structure has a low parapet, with rubble gablehead stacks on the east and west sides, a parapet walk with drainage channels, and a stone flagged roof.

In the basement, there is a door on the south side that has been enlarged, interrupting corbels for joists. Arrow slit openings are present on the north, south, and east sides, but there is no access to the upper floors from this level.

The entresol, likely used for storage, is accessible from the first floor via a narrow mural stair in the northwest angle. It has a hatch in the vault that is probably a later addition, along with slit openings on each elevation.

The first floor serves as the principal floor, featuring a round-arched doorway to the east and windows on the north and south sides. There is a plain fireplace in the south wall, with staircases located in the northwest (leading down) and southwest (leading up) angles. A garderobe is situated in the northeast angle, complete with a soil flue, a lamp recess, and two small windows. An aumbry with a depressed ogee head is found in the northeast corner, although it has been damaged by a later door. Additionally, there is a spyhole in the east wall that leads to a straight stair rising to the second floor.

The second floor, also referred to as an entresol, was originally divided into two chambers by a timber partition running north-south. This level contains fireplaces in both the west and east walls, an opening to the east gable, and a garderobe in the northeast angle. Access to the parapet walk is provided by a ladder.