39, 41, 43 North Castle Street, Edinburgh

These are a pair of substantial, symmetrical former houses dating to 1793, now three storeys high with a basement and attic. They were originally designed as a pair but later subdivided, and now comprise flats above commercial premises. The buildings are constructed of polished cream sandstone ashlar, with rock-faced stone to the basement. The ground floor features V-jointed rustication, a cill course at the first floor, a band course above, an eaves cornice, and a blocking course. The central three bays project slightly at ground level, featuring a central arched doorway with a nine-panel door, and are supported by giant fluted Corinthian pilasters topped with a pediment containing an oculus. The first-floor windows are distinguished by blind balustrading to their aprons. Flanking bays have four-panelled doors, each with a rectangular plate glass fanlight above. The outermost bays are united by bowed fronts. The roof is piended, with dormers including a tripartite pair to the right and a canted, bipartite pair to the left.

The windows are timber sash and case with 12 panes to each sash. The building has ashlar coped skews, rendered stacks with rebuilt stone on the south side, and grey slate roofing.

The interior has undergone alterations to create a single office and to accommodate flats. A large central corridor was opened up at ground and first floor levels. Number 39 retains a dog-leg stair on the axis of the entrance. The stair features alternate decorative cast-iron banisters. A tripartite window at the head of the stair has fluted pilasters and Gothic glazing. The front room contains a carved timber chimneypiece with Gothic cluster columns, black marbling, and marble slips. A bow-ended rear room features a chimneypiece with fluted Ionic columns. On the first floor, decorative ceiling roses and a tray rest are present. Front and rear rooms were formerly en suite, with early 19th-century veined black marble chimneypieces and pilastered interconnecting double doors, now largely replaced by shelving. A simple green marble chimneypiece exists in a small front room. Number 43 is similar, with a stair extended to the second floor and matching banisters, lacking the rear bow. A small, single-storey and basement extension has been added to the rear. At ground level, the front room has a panelled dado and a black slate chimneypiece, while the rear room has a painted carved chimneypiece with a frieze fluted with urns. The first floor front room boasts a very fine carved white marble chimneypiece, and a small front room has a chimneypiece with fluted pilasters and gesso enrichments. The second-floor back stairs, lit from above with quarter landings to the attics, are back to back; the north stair has later barley twist banisters, with a slapping through to the upper flight. The principal front room of the north flat features a stop-fluted Corinthian screen, panelled dado, a painted black slate chimneypiece, and double doors to a rear room with a 19th-century grey marble chimneypiece. A range recess is still evident in the former kitchen at the rear. The south flat is plainer, but a carved chimneypiece with gesso enrichments is found in its small front room. A full storey of attics exists at the rear.