15 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

15 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

This Grade A listed building is part of Regent Terrace, a classical townhouse terrace of 34 properties designed by William Playfair and built between 1826 and 1833. The terrace is arranged as 3-bay units, originally constructed as 2-storey buildings with attic and basement elevations. Many properties, including this one, have received additional third storeys in later periods. The terrace is punctuated by two 18-bay, 3-storey pavilions with 3-bay advanced sections at each end (Nos 11-16 and 23-28), and a 12-bay, 3-storey western section (Nos 1-4). The entire terrace steps down at intervals to follow the slope of the road.

The building is constructed with droved ashlar to the basement; polished ashlar to the upper floors; and predominantly coursed squared rubble with dressed margins to the rear elevation, with rendering to the third floor. The principal elevation features a base course, dividing bands between basement and ground floor and between ground and first floors, and a cornice between the first and second floors. A continuous cast-iron trellis balcony with Greek key border runs across the first floor. The second floor has a cill course, and the eaves are finished with a cornice and blocking course. The doorpiece comprises fluted attached Greek Doric columns, and fenestration is regular throughout, with architraved windows to ground and first floors and panelled aprons to ground floor windows. The rear elevation has predominantly regular fenestration.

On the south-east (principal) elevation, the three-storey and basement arrangement shows a timber panelled and glazed door with a 3-light fanlight in a segmentally-headed opening to the basement centre, with windows to the left and right bays. The ground floor features a door to the right bay, with steps and a platt (modern surfacing) overarching the basement recess, leading to a 2-leaf timber-panelled door with a letterbox fanlight. The north-west (rear) elevation is a 2-bay arrangement with an eaves course.

Glazing is predominantly 12-pane, with 4-pane glazing to the ground floor front elevation and plate-glass to the first and second floors to the front. The right bay to the first floor rear has 20-lying-pane glazing. Glazing is predominantly in timber sash and case windows. The roof is an M-roof with central valley, finished in graded grey slate with stone skews and skewputts. Corniced mutual ridge stacks to the east and west are preceded to the front by individual octagonal flues, with a small wallhead stack to the rear elevation, predominantly finished with circular cans.

Boundary features include stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings with dog bars and spear-head finials with a distinctive circled border, edging the basement recess and platt to the front. The rear boundary is formed by random rubble walls with predominantly flat coping, enclosing the garden. A cast-iron down-pipe with ornamental hopper is positioned to the right of the front elevation.

The interior retains significant period features. The ground floor lobby contains a round-headed niche to the right, a compartmented ceiling with good plasterwork, and a timber and glazed pilastered screen with 2-leaf door. The former dining room features good plasterwork, corniced and pilastered doorpieces, and a pilastered black marble chimneypiece with timber fender-seat. The first floor maintains good plasterwork throughout all rooms. The former drawing room contains a white marble classical chimneypiece with corniced and pilastered doorpieces, and an important survival of 19th-century decorative scheme including good gilded plasterwork and trompe-l'oeil painting to the ceiling. The rear room to the west features a classical white marble chimneypiece, corniced and pilastered doorpieces, and good plasterwork.

Stone cantilevered stairs with ornate cast-iron balusters lead through the building, with good plasterwork evident to the cupola and landings. An oval cupola surmounts a deep cavetto surround in a sail-vaulted ceiling.