Service Wing, Fernielaw House, 37 Fernielaw Avenue, Edinburgh

Fernielaw House, at 37 Fernielaw Avenue, Edinburgh, is a mid-18th century farmhouse that has been significantly altered and extended over time. A service wing, built in 1913 by Leadbetter, Fairlie and Reid, incorporates earlier fabric and extends in an L-shape to the west. The main house (number 37) features a Venetian window on its north elevation. A crowstepped bay was added to the northeast corner in the later 19th century, housing a 1913 door and forestair. A semi-octagonal bay and a 19th-century oriel window were added to the south elevation during the mid-19th century. The service wing (number 35), advanced from the main house to the north and west, has a gabled end facing east. A 1913 boiler house projects below the eastern gable.

The house is constructed of harled stone with ashlar window and door dressings; number 37 is ochre-washed, while number 35 is whitewashed. Eaves courses run along the east and south elevations of the service wing. Crowstepped gables are a consistent feature throughout the building.

The north (principal) elevation of the main house features a forestair with cast-iron railings leading to a boarded oak front door set within a roll-moulded architrave frame, located within the later 19th-century crowstepped bay on the outer left. Above the door is a window and a gable vent, topped with a finialled, bracketed, cast-iron lantern. A window occupies the space of a former doorway on the outer right, with a Venetian window above. The fenestration is otherwise irregular. The advanced service wing features an irregularly fenestrated gable end and a central, shouldered gable on its east return. A small, crowstepped boiler house projects from the ground floor.

The east elevation presents a stepped composition, with a later 19th-century advanced, gabled bay to the right of the main gable, and a smaller, 1913 outshot in the re-entrant angle.

The south (garden) elevation showcases a semi-octagonal, two-storey bay in the centre, with a glazed door at ground level and windows to the returns. A bandcourse, cornice, and blocking course run along the elevation. An oriel window is situated to the left at the first floor level. Bipartite, piend-roofed dormers illuminate the attic. The service wing’s piend-roofed section features crowstepped dormers breaking the eaves. A glazed garden door and an adjoining window are located on the ground floor to the right.

The west and north elevations of number 35 form a former kitchen courtyard, with three bays to the west and two bays to the north. Swept dormers break the eaves. A half-glazed timber panelled door and a small window are located in the inner bay of the north elevation.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing is found in timber sash and case windows. The roof is covered with graded grey slate, and chimneys have decorative clay cans.

A small, pantiled wash house, with a window facing south and a boarded timber door on the east, stands in the kitchen courtyard along with a privy connected to the east by a timber boarded door.

The boundary is marked by ashlar-coped random rubble walls. Pyramidal, corniced gate piers define the entrance to number 37, while cylindrical gate piers mark the main entrance drive.