1-3 Union Street, Edinburgh

This is a classical tenement built in 1806 by Thomas Bonnar, prominently situated on the corner of Antigua Street and Union Street in Edinburgh. The building presents a 6-bay façade to Antigua Street, a 7-bay façade to Union Street, and a 3-bay, polygonal canted section at the corner. It rises three stories with an attic, although the basement is absent from the canted corner and the first three bays from the left on the Antigua Street elevation.

The ground floor is finished in polished ashlar, with a rusticated finish on the 4th to 8th bays from the left on the Antigua Street elevation. The basement is faced with painted broached ashlar, and the upper floors are of droved ashlar. Distinguishing bands mark the divisions between the basement and ground floor, and between the ground and first floor. A cill course runs along the first floor, and a main cornice sits between the second floor and the attic. A modillioned eaves cornice and a blocking course complete the exterior detailing. The fenestration is largely regular.

The Union Street elevation features platts (projecting canopies) above basement recesses, leading to doorways with modern timber and glazed doors, each with letterbox fanlights exhibiting a half-wheel glazing pattern. Blind windows are present on the 4th and 6th bays from the left on the Union Street elevation. The corner elevation has a panelled door with a similar half-wheel detail fanlight.

On the Antigua Street elevation, a modern shopfront occupies the first two bays, with a further timber-panelled door and fanlight in the third bay. Steps lead to a basement recess and another timber-panelled door with a half-wheel fanlight in the sixth bay. Modern doors are found in the 5th and 8th bays of the basement level. A blind window is located on the 2nd floor, and a continuous cast iron balconnette runs beneath the attic windows in the 4th to 8th bays. The rear elevation features two bays with two single bay canted sections to the right.

The windows predominantly feature 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case frames. The ground floor windows on Union Street, those on the corner, and the basement windows along Antigua Street have 8-pane glazing with narrow margin lights in fixed timber frames. The shopfront on Antigua Street uses plate glass. The roof is pitched, with grey slate tiles, stone skewbacks and skewputts. Ridges are punctuated by several stacks, constructed of corniced, droved ashlar, with circular cans.

Cast iron railings with spearhead and urn finials, primarily set in ashlar copes, edge the basement recess and platts along the Union Street elevation, with two cast iron balconettes beneath the windows to the right. Along Antigua Street, stone copes edge the basement, with cast iron railings above.