1 Carlton Terrace, Edinburgh

1 Carlton Terrace, Edinburgh

This is a classical town house designed by William Playfair between 1821 and 1825, built from the late 1820s into the mid-1830s. It forms part of a long hairpin-curved terrace of 19 houses arranged with rectangular-plan properties (Nos 1-4 and 14-19) featuring straight three-bay front elevations, and wedge-plan houses (Nos 5-13) with curved four-bay fronts. The building is predominantly two storeys with a basement and balustraded parapet.

The exterior combines droved ashlar to the basements with polished ashlar to the upper floors, while the side and rear elevations are constructed from coursed squared rubble with droved margins. A base course runs around the basements, with dividing bands marking the junction between basement and ground floors and between ground and first floors. A modillioned eaves cornice fronts the principal elevation, with an eaves band to the rear. The door surrounds are raised with consoled cornices, and fenestration is regular throughout, featuring architraved and corniced windows with panelled aprons to ground floor level and architraved windows with cast-iron balconettes to the first floor.

The principal south-east elevation shows a timber-panelled door with a three-light fanlight at basement level to the centre, with a window to the left and a blocked area to the right beneath the platt. At ground floor level, a platt overarches the basement recess, leading to a two-leaf timber-panelled door with a triple-circle glazed fanlight. A flag pole stands between the centre and right bays at first floor level. The parapet above the eaves cornice is sunken and panelled.

The south-west side elevation is a three-storey, three-bay façade with a window to the left at ground floor, a window to the centre at first floor, and a cornice returning from this elevation to the right between the first and second floors. The second floor contains windows to the centre and right. The north-west rear elevation is a two-bay composition.

Boundary treatments comprise cast-iron railings with dog bars and spear-head finials surmounted upon stone coping with a distinctive circled border, edging the basement recess and platt at the front. A wrought iron lamp standard stands to the left of the platt. To the rear, random rubble walls with predominantly flat coping form the garden boundary, with a timber-boarded door to the south-west wall.

Glazing is predominantly 12-pane throughout, with 15-pane glazing to the first floor of the principal elevation, set in timber sash and case windows. The roof is double-pitched with a central valley, finished in graded grey slate with stone skews and skewputts. To the south-west elevation, ashlar wall-head stacks sit to the left and right (the latter with a canted front), while two rendered ridge stacks rise to the north-east. All stacks are corniced with circular cans.

The interior is richly appointed. At ground floor level, the entrance lobby features a screen of two Roman Doric columns in antae across its far end with a compartmented ceiling and good plasterwork. The former dining room contains a classical black stone chimneypiece with cornicing and pilastered doorpieces, alongside a good plasterwork cornice and ceiling rose. The rear room to the west has a good plasterwork cornice.

At first floor level, the former drawing room displays a classical grey marble chimneypiece with an ornate register grate, a corniced and pilastered doorpiece, and good plasterwork cornice and ceiling rose. The rear room to the west contains a classical white marble chimneypiece with good plasterwork. The second floor retains some simple cornicing and painted stone chimneypieces.

The stair and stair hall feature an oval cupola above the stair well set within a compartmented ceiling with good plasterwork. Stone stairs with cast-iron balusters rise through the building, with wrought iron lamp brackets to the first and second floor landings and a cast-iron tray rest at first floor level. Landings and the stair hall have good plasterwork throughout.