31, 33 Spylaw Road, Edinburgh

This is a two-storey and attic, five-bay villa dating from approximately 1875. It stands on Spylaw Road in Edinburgh. The villa is constructed of cream sandstone, with stugged ashlar and polished dressings to the front and northwest elevation, and squared and snecked stugged rubble with stugged ashlar dressings to the rear and side elevations. A base course, moulded string course above the ground floor rising to stepped hoodmoulds over the windows, an eaves cornice, chamfered reveals, ashlar mullions, and a pierced parapet with coped dies to the canted windows are notable external features.

The northwest (entrance) elevation is symmetrical and features a central, three-stage stair and entrance tower with rusticated quoins. A shouldered-arch moulded doorpiece is sheltered by a stepped hoodmould, above a panelled door with plate glass fanlight. A tiled vestibule lies behind the door. The second stage of the tower has a tripartite window with a bracketted cill and incised lintel. The top stage has a corbelled and corniced bipartite window, with a single window to the return on the southwest side. A heavy bracketted cornice with a blocking course tops the tower. The bays flanking the central tower have bipartite windows at ground and first floor levels. Outer bays are composed of full-height canted windows, which are engaged polygonal corner towers each topped with a flat-roofed dormer set diagonally into the piend roof above.

The northeast (Ettick Road) elevation has three central bays with single windows to ground and first floors. The outer bays mirror the corner towers and flat-roofed dormers seen on the northwest elevation. A small, central, piend-roofed dormer is also present.

The southwest elevation displays a two-storey side wing to the right, which has a piend roof with a single-storey garden and a modern extension that separates it from the main house. The main elevation features a gabled wallhead with a broad apex stack and two single attic windows. A tall tripartite stair window with border glazing of leaded lights is centrally placed in the main block.

The southeast (rear) elevation is characterized by an advanced side wing to the outer left. The elevation shows three single windows at ground and first floors to the left of the centre, and two flat-roofed dormers to the roof. A remain of a former conservatory is visible to the right of the centre, above a bipartite window at first floor level. A full-height canted angle bay is located to the outer right.

Timber sash and case windows with plate glass glazing are used throughout. The roof is covered with Scottish slate, featuring piend and platform sections with lead flashings. There is one apex stack and two central stacks.

The interior was not inspected in 1992.

The property is enclosed by a tall rubble wall at the rear with semi-circular coping, a lower rubble wall to the front, and three tall, coped ashlar gatepiers.