8 Brighton Place, Edinburgh

8 Brighton Place is a pair of two-storey with basement, three-bay terraced classical houses, dating to circa 1824, designed by John Baxter of Portobello. They are slightly set back from the street. The houses originally had flanking single-storey pavilions, one of which (at No. 6) was recently rebuilt after demolition, while the other (at No. 8) has been raised to two storeys.

The principal elevation is of polished ashlar, deeply channelled at ground level. Droved ashlar is used for the basements and the north-east pavilions, while droved-finish render covers the south-west pavilions. The north-east elevation features rubble with harled sections, and squared and snecked sandstone is visible at the rear of both houses, with harling on the south-west elevation. A band course runs between the basement and ground levels, and again between the ground and first floors. A cill course sits below the first-floor windows, topped by a cornice and blocking course. The north-east wing has a band course and coping.

Four steps with original cast-iron handrails lead to deep-set, two-leaf panelled doors in the outer bays of each house, each with a rectangular plate glass fanlight and a first-floor window above. Windows are present on each floor of the intermediate bays. A window and door are located on the ground floor of each pavilion, with a window on the first floor of the south-west pavilion.

The north-west (rear) elevation has two bays in each house. A flush-panelled door and flanking windows give access to the basement of No. 6. The rear of No. 8 was partially obscured in 1994, but features a later tripartite window to the left and a later single-storey harled addition to the outer right.

The principal elevation incorporates plate glass timber sash and case windows, while the rear windows are mainly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. The roof is grey slate, piended and platformed. Chimneys are rendered and coped at the front and rear, one rendered and coped at the rear of No. 6, an ashlar chimney at the rear of No. 8, one harled at the south-west, and a truncated rendered chimney at the front of the south-west elevation.

The interior of No. 8 was not inspected in 1994, but No. 6 retains a cast-iron banister, panelling to the dado of the stairwell and hall, and floral-motif cornices in the vestibule and hall. A stone flagged floor is found in the hall, with encaustic tiles in the vestibule. A tripartite partition and a stained glass door are also present in the vestibule. Plasterwork is in good condition, although only partly surviving (original details included swags between the cornice and picture rail). No ceiling roses survive. Shutters are in place. The front ground floor room features flaming torch and rod plasterwork, while later timber chimneypieces are found in the front rooms on both the ground and first floors.

Boundary walls of droved ashlar with coping are present at the front of both houses, with good railings at No. 8.