23 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

23 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

This Grade A listed building was designed by William Playfair in 1825 and built between 1826 and 1833. It forms part of a long terrace of 34 classical townhouses, each 3 bays wide, designed as a unified composition that steps down to follow the slope of the road.

The terrace originally comprised 2-storey elevations with attics and basements, though many properties have since received additional third storeys. Two 18-bay pavilions (Nos 11–16 and 23–28) punctuate the terrace, each featuring 3-storey elevations with 3-bay advanced sections at each end. A 12-bay, 3-storey section addresses the western end at Nos 1–4.

The principal south-east elevation employs droved painted ashlar to the basement and polished ashlar to the upper floors. The rear elevation is predominantly coursed squared rubble with dressed margins. The principal elevation is articulated by a base course, dividing bands between basement and ground floor and between ground and first floors, and a continuous cast-iron trellis balcony with Greek key border to the first floor. The second floor features a cill course, with an eaves cornice and blocking course completing the composition. The doorpiece is appointed with fluted attached Greek Doric columns, and fenestration is regularly distributed across both principal and rear elevations, with architraved windows to ground and first floors and panelled aprons to ground floor windows.

The south-east elevation to No. 23 comprises an advanced 3-storey and basement section. The basement contains a central timber-panelled and glazed door with a 3-light fanlight in a segmentally-headed opening, flanked by windows. The ground floor features steps and a platt overarching the basement recess, leading to a 2-leaf timber-panelled door with a letterbox fanlight in the right bay.

The north-west rear elevation comprises 2 bays with an advanced timber-framed extension to the ground floor centre bay. An eaves course and rooflight to the right complete the elevation.

The roof is an M-roof with central valley, finished in graded grey slate with stone skews and skewputts. East and west elevations feature corniced mutual ridge stacks preceded by individual octagonal flues, with predominantly circular cans throughout.

Boundary treatment comprises stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings with dog bars and spear-head finials edging the basement recess and platt to the front. The distinctive cast-iron railings incorporate a circled border. To the rear, random rubble walls with predominantly flat coping form the garden boundary.

Glazing is predominantly 12-pane, with 16-pane glazing to the right bay of the rear elevation. Windows are predominantly timber sash and case.

The building is now subdivided into flats. The ground-floor lobby features a compartmented ceiling with good plasterwork, a consoled and corniced timber and etched glazed screen, and 2-leaf doors. The first-floor drawing room contains a classical white marble chimneypiece with tiled cheeks and excellent plasterwork to the ceiling, including a rich dado rail, French-style depressed arched door openings, timber-panelled doors with architraves, panels above with ornate gilded mouldings, and pelmets with gilt carvings above the windows. The rear rooms on this floor include a classical white marble chimneypiece and a grey marble chimneypiece with gilded detail; evidence of a painted ceiling survives beneath modern paint in the east-facing room.

The second floor features reeded door architraves and simple cornices throughout. Two rooms have grey marble chimneypieces, one of which is appointed with Delft tiled cheeks, and one room retains a classical timber chimneypiece.

Stone cantilevered stairs with ornate cast-iron balusters ascend through the building, with an oval cupola set within a compartmented ceiling and mouldings forming a diamond pattern to the underside of the stairs. The stairwell ceiling and landings feature good simple plasterwork.