Moray House College Of Education, 39 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh

Moray House College of Education, located at 39 Holyrood Road in Edinburgh, was designed by Alan Robertson in 1913. This three-storey, symmetrical, 11-bay building serves as a purpose-built teacher training centre, with its main entrance facing south onto Holyrood Road. The structure is constructed of ashlar stone featuring raised channelled margins and coursed, bull-faced pink sandstone. It has a deep moulded base course, a cornice above the ground storey, an eaves course, a cornice, and a balustraded parapet.

The entrance elevation on the south side showcases three advanced outer bays, with further advanced central bays that feature channelled rustication at the ground level and paired engaged Ionic columns that rise to the first and second storeys. Above these are segmental-arched pediments. The central three-bay round-arched arcade at the ground floor leads into an inner courtyard, with mullioned and transomed windows above.

On the north elevation, there is a slightly advanced central gabled bay that includes a projecting single-storey flat-roofed entrance porch and a Venetian window above. The outer bays are advanced and feature central segmental-headed dormers that break the eaves.

The courtyard elevations are symmetrical, with the north range displaying a central gable and flanking full-height tripartite canted bays topped with ogee bell-cast roofs. The building predominantly features multi-pane timber sash and case windows and is roofed with grey slates.

Inside, as observed in 2007, the original room layout remains largely intact, showcasing several notable features. There is a large open-well staircase with decorative metal balusters, a timber handrail, and Composite-Order columns. Some classrooms include timber panelling, while a large hall features a central segmental-arched ceiling along with timber panelling and flooring. The former library contains timber bookcases, and there are timber and glass doors, along with some decorative plasterwork.