8 Canning Street Lane, Edinburgh

This is a largely late 19th-century building complex in Edinburgh, with later additions and alterations. It comprises a 3-storey and basement block known as Atholl House, adjoined by a longer, predominantly 2-storey mews block containing 26 bays. The exterior is constructed from squared and snecked stugged sandstone with droved long and short surrounds. Long and short quoins are present, as is a diving band course at ground floor level on the Canning Street elevation. Many basement windows are barred.

The Canning Street (NE) elevation presents a near-symmetrical facade. Basement windows are sunken, with some now infilled. A corniced, architraved former doorway, now glazed, is located to the right of the penultimate bay. The ground floor and upper floors feature regular fenestration. A deeply chamfered angle is present on the outer right, with a broad doorway on the ground floor and bipartite windows above.

The Canning Street Lane (SE) elevation is asymmetrical. To the right is a 3-storey and basement, 4-bay block with barred basement windows. A recessed doorway is located at ground floor level on the left, above which is a small 2-pane window. The adjoining section comprises four gabled bays with modern garages, a doorway, and a pair of louvred windows at ground floor, irregular fenestration on the first floor, and blind tablets set into the gableheads. Further bays have a three-storey, originally gabled block with irregular doorways and fenestration, and remaining bays are gabled (with the exception of the penultimate bay), with irregular doorways, garage openings, and windows. An advanced bay features a gablehead tablet carved with ‘AH’ and a gablehead stack.

The SW elevation is largely obscured by adjacent buildings.

The Atholl Crescent Lane (NW) elevations are again near-symmetrical on the left-hand side, with a deeply chamfered angle connecting to Atholl House. Three regularly fenestrated bays are present, with a ground floor window infilled and a further sunken opening below. A doorway is located to the right of the central bay. A narrow light is positioned to the outer right on the third floor. Adjoining this is a two-storey, five-bay block with recessed doors and fanlights at ground floor to the left, louvred windows in two bays to the right, and a small light to the outer left. Single and wide casement windows are above. Two gabled bays have irregular fenestration, and a further three-storey, six-bay block, originally gabled but now with a flat roof, has irregular fenestration. Remaining bays are gabled with irregular fenestration and doorways.

The building has a variety of predominantly timber-framed windows, and grey slate roofs, which are piended over Atholl House, with lead ridges. Coped stone skews are present. Coped gablehead and wallhead stacks – some shouldered – with predominantly octagonal moulded cans are seen on the Atholl House and Atholl Crescent Lane elevations. Cast-iron rainwater goods are also present. The interiors were not inspected in 1999.