183 And 185 Morrison Street, Edinburgh

Mid to later 19th century with later alterations. 2-storey and attic, 4-bay symmetrical tenement block with shops at ground floor, with Art Nouveau detailing, including centred, carved segmental pediment over main entrance, partially abutting No 181 Morrison Street to E. Polished sandstone ashlar with polished dressings; snecked and stugged sandstone to sides, painted at ground floor of W elevation. Blank, corniced frieze along entire main elevation above shop fronts; cill course at 1st floor, returned to W elevation; string course with cornice and blocking course above. Shop front bays divided by stylised stop chamfered pilasters with Y capitals; channelled strip pilasters with stylised fluted capitals flanking main entrance and to angles at ground floor, (pilaster at outer right stepped-in); corniced architraved bipartite and tripartite windows at 1st floor; triangular pediment to terminal dies of blocking course. Stop chamfered angle to W.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: recessed centred asymmetrical entrance with folding 3-leaf boarded doors to left and boarded door to right; carved pediment above with central monograph, flanking cornucopia and floriate tendrils. Original 3-bay shopfront to left; converted 4-bay pub to right with recessed doorway to outer right. Bipartite window to 2 central bays at 1st floor; tripartite windows to outer bays; architraved narrow opening to chamfered angle to W, corbelled to form right angle above. 2 evenly disposed piended bipartite dormers at attic (infilled at right).

W ELEVATION: irregular, 2-bay, gabled elevation. Deep-set door with large barred window set directly above in bay to outer right; window at 1st floor above. Deep-set door at ground floor in bay to outer left; bipartite window set to right above. Centred attic window above; gablehead stack.

S ELEVATION: not seen 2000.

E ELEVATION: shop at ground floor to No 181; window in bay to outer left and right at 1st floor; centred attic window; gablehead stack.

Shop windows at ground floor, with original timber frames to No 183, replacement round-headed wood frames to No 185; 2-pane timber sash and case windows at 1st floor and to side elevations; 4-pane windows to left dormer. Grey slate roof; slate to dormers. Coped skews; tall, multi-flue corniced ashlar stack to E; tall coped cement-rendered and lined stack to W. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen, 1998.