14 Randolph Place, Edinburgh

14 Randolph Place, Edinburgh

A 2-storey and attic terraced tenement designed by Robert Reid in 1810, with later additions and alterations. The building comprises a 34-bay asymmetrical composition with an advanced 9-bay central pavilion (Nos 28-31), advanced terminal pavilions of 4 bays to the left and 3 bays to the right, and pair of bow ends at Nos 23 and 39. Ground-floor shops run throughout. The structure is built in broached ashlar sandstone, with painted finishes at Nos 23-27, Nos 32-36, the bow ends, and at 14 Randolph Place itself. A cill course runs at first-floor level, with corniced eaves course and blocking course at first floor. A central wallhead panel marks No 14 Randolph Place.

The principal (west) elevation presents a complex arrangement. The central pavilion contains a 9-panel timber common stair door to the right of centre with rectangular fanlight, flanked by multiple shop fronts. To the left is an architraved shop front with dentilled cornice and decorative consoles, featuring decorative multi-pane windows on a panelled base course swept into a modern glazed doorpiece. To the right is a modern corniced shop front with plate glass window and door. The first floor shows regular fenestration in bays, with a blind window at the centre.

The blocks flanking the central pavilion comprise 7 bays to the left and 6 bays to the right. The left block features an architraved and corniced doorpiece with panelled timber common stair door and 2-pane rectangular fanlight, multiple shop fronts with dentilled cornices and decorative consoles, and regular first-floor fenestration in bays. The right block contains a corniced 3-bay shop front at its centre, steps up to a 4-panel timber door with plate glass rectangular fanlight, and a 2-bay corniced restaurant front (Pizza Express, designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects in 1997) with swept-in recessed glazed door and 6-panel timber common stair door. The first floor has been altered, featuring a 5-light casement window and windows with geometric glazing patterns of small-pane casement panels at centre with plate glass above and below.

The advanced terminal pavilion to the left (Nos 23 and 24) includes a dentilled corniced shop front with advanced doorpiece at ground level featuring decorative consoles, modern 4-panel 2-leaf timber door with 6-pane glazed upper panels and 8-pane rectangular fanlight, a 2-panel timber door with 6-pane glazed upper panel and 4-pane rectangular fanlight, and a 3-pane window. The bow end has polished angles and comprises three modern 3-pane windows, with windows and blind at first floor. The advanced terminal pavilion to the right (Nos 38 and 39) has modern shop fronts with plate glass windows and glazed doors, with the bow end featuring a canted plate glass window and 2-leaf louvered timber shutters at first floor.

The Randolph Place (north) elevation is 2-storey, attic and basement, presented as a 3-bay elevation becoming 14 Randolph Place. It comprises a 6-panel 2-leaf timber common stair door with 6-pane rectangular fanlight in the left bay at ground, and blind windows in other bays at principal and first floors, with a blind sunken window at basement level.

The Charlotte Lane (east) elevation is a much-altered 5-bay random rubble gable with droved ashlar dressings. It features a modern multi-pane timber door with glazed upper panels centred at ground, flanked by irregularly-spaced barred windows, a modern timber common stair door with 3-pane rectangular fanlight to the outer left, and barred window to the outer right. The first floor has irregularly-spaced windows in bays, with a pair of windows at attic and a blind 5-light window to the outer left at attic.

The rear (northeast) elevation is part-obscured by a much-altered single-storey and attic former coach house. This comprises a restaurant front (rear of Pizza Express) with five plate glass sliding windows at ground, glazed segmental-arched slapping to the outer right, modern louvered timber door to the left, modern tripartite window to the outer left, and modern casement windows to five irregularly-spaced gabletted dormers breaking the eaves at attic.

The roofs are graded slate. A variety of slate-hung dormers includes polygonal piended and tripartite box dormers. The dormer at No 38 is obscured by a vertically-boarded timber gabletted dormerhead with tripartite segmental-arched window with small-pane glazing. An ogee-roofed cupola with modern tripartite window surmounts the bow end to the right; the copper roof and finial were installed by William H Ross in 1909. Some modern skylights and a louvered ventilator serve the rear. Cast-iron rainwater goods are present throughout. The chimneys include rendered ridge stacks paired at No 23, wallhead stacks with a pair of shouldered examples incorporating lunette windows to the principal elevation, and rendered gablehead stacks, all coped and corniced with circular cans. Coped skews finish the rear.

The interiors were not examined at the time of listing in 1999.

The windows are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case throughout.