183 And 185 Morrison Street, Edinburgh

This is a mid- to later 19th-century tenement building of two storeys and an attic, situated on Morrison Street, Edinburgh. The building is symmetrical with four bays and features shops at ground floor level, exhibiting Art Nouveau detailing. It partially abuts the building at No. 181 Morrison Street to the east.

The principal, north-facing elevation is constructed from polished sandstone ashlar with polished dressings, while snecked and stugged sandstone is used on the sides, with the western elevation’s ground floor painted. A blank, corniced frieze runs along the entire main elevation above the shop fronts, and a cill course is present at the first floor, returning to the west elevation. A string course with cornice and blocking course sits above. Stylised, stop-chamfered pilasters with Y capitals divide the shop front bays; channelled strip pilasters with stylised fluted capitals flank the main entrance, and are located at the ground floor angles, the outer right pilaster being stepped in. The first floor features corniced, architraved bipartite and tripartite windows. A triangular pediment is present to the terminal dies of the blocking course with a stop chamfered angle to the west.

The recessed, centred, asymmetrical entrance includes a three-leaf boarded door on the left and a boarded door on the right, topped by a carved segmental pediment featuring a central monogram, flanking cornucopia motifs, and floriate tendrils. An original three-bay shop front is on the left, while the right side has been converted into a pub with a recessed doorway to the outer right. The first floor has bipartite windows to the two central bays and tripartite windows to the outer bays; an architraved narrow opening is set into the chamfered angle to the west, corbelled to form a right angle above. There are two evenly disposed, piended bipartite dormers in the attic, with the one on the right being infilled.

The western elevation is irregular, with two gabled bays. It features a deep-set door with a large barred window above it in the bay to the outer right, and a window at the first floor above. A deep-set door is located at ground floor level in the bay to the outer left, with a bipartite window set to the right above. A centred attic window and gablehead stack are also present.

The southern elevation was not visible in 2000. The eastern elevation features a shop at ground floor level to No. 181, with windows in the outer left and right bays at the first floor, and a centred attic window. A gablehead stack is also present.

Original timber shop window frames are found at No. 183, while replacement round-headed wood frames are found at No. 185. Two-pane timber sash and case windows are on the first floor and side elevations, and four-pane windows are featured in the left dormer. The roof is covered in grey slate, with slate also used on the dormers. Coped skews, a tall, multi-flue corniced ashlar stack to the east, and a tall, coped, cement-rendered and lined stack to the west are present. Cast-iron rainwater goods are also included. The interior was not inspected in 1998.