East Morningside House, 3, 5 Clinton Road, Edinburgh

East Morningside House comprises two adjoining properties at 3 and 5 Clinton Road, Edinburgh, originally a single villa of circa 1730 but subdivided into two houses in 1981. The main house (No 5) is a 2-storey structure with basement set within mature formal landscaped gardens, while No 3 represents later 19th-century and subsequent additions to the rear. Both are constructed of roughcast with sandstone margins, and the 19th-century additions feature stone quoin strips.

The east elevation of No 5 presents a 5-bay façade with oversailing steps leading to a central doorway flanked by a 2-leaf panelled door and 3-light fanlight. Single windows occupy all floors; a circa 1930s tripartite window with concrete lintel spans the ground floor across both bays to the right of the entrance. Dummy windows mark the outer bays at ground and first floors. Quadrant walls adjoin to the outer left and right, linked to ball-finalled square-plan piers.

The south elevation of No 3 displays 4 bays with a recessed single-storey entrance porch to the outer left. Steps ascend to the entrance porch, which features a broad chamfered doorway with cornice above and 2-leaf panelled doors. A full-height canted window occupies the advanced first bay, with a slate canopy topped by a stylised stone pediment; a secondary basement doorway flanks this window to the right. A single-storey flat-roofed addition occupies the ground floor of the second bay, which is itself recessed behind it and fenestrated by an 18-pane sash and case window at first floor. Single windows light the outer right bays.

The west elevation of No 5 shows 4 bays of the main house stepped back from right to left. A large 4-bay flat-roofed single-storey extension to the left masks the elevation behind round-arched small-pane windows. Single windows occupy the recessed outer right bay of the main house. The first floor of the main house features single windows to a rounded stair block and to the third bay; a modern lean-to conservatory extends from the first floor of the first bay.

The north elevation spans 5 bays, incorporating 4 bays of a 1930s flat-roofed extension to the outer right. The first bay (2-storey) contains dummy windows on both floors. The second and fifth bays feature single windows, while the third bay displays a secondary entrance with a flanking window. The fourth bay is lit by a bipartite window. Predominantly 12-pane sash and case windows characterise this elevation.

Throughout the building, windows are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case (with some 18th-century dummy windows supplementing), complemented by round-arched dormers and rooflights. The roofing comprises piended roofs with swept eaves to No 3, covered in grey slates with scalloped lead flashings. Ridge stacks are roughcast and corniced; a shouldered and corniced wallhead stack stands north of the 19th-century addition. Pedimented dormers face west and south, and skylights punctuate the roof surfaces.

The interior of No 5 demonstrates fine decorative finishes. The drawing room and dining room retain timber panelling, alongside two bedrooms. A late 18th-century classical timber fireplace with marble slip embellishes one room, whilst a basket-arched and keystoned marble fireplace graces the drawing room and a basket-arched marble chimneypiece adorns the bedroom. The first-floor public room to the north features recessed fitted display cabinets, while the north bedroom is fitted with glazed geometric-pattern display cabinets.

The gatepiers and boundary walls are of 18th-century origin. The principal gatepiers are buttressed, channelled and corniced, crowned with ball finials; quadrant walls adjoin these gatepiers, with a pedestrian gateway through slapping fitted with a decorative timber gate. Secondary gatepiers at the entrance to No 3 are coped with chamfered angles; a pedestrian gateway through slapping to the right carries a decorative timber gate. High coped rubble boundary and mutual walls enclose the site. A north-south garden wall on the west face is harled north of the house. Modern flat-roofed garages are approached via pointed-arched pedestrian and carriage gateways.

A 17th-century dovecot survives on the site, largely incorporated into 19th-century outbuilding additions. The square-section dovecot features a north-facing lectern and piend-roofed addition to the north, now used as workshop accommodation. It is constructed of squared and snecked sandstone rubble with some droved dressings, roofed in grey slate with skylights to the addition. The west elevation displays a doorway with flanking window and a first-floor window to the dovecot, plus a single window to the addition. Twelve flight holes pierce the chamfered south-west angle. The north elevation accommodates a doorway to the addition with flanking window. The interior contains 232 brick nesting boxes and a well or chamber shaft.