14 Queen Street, Edinburgh

14 Queen Street in Edinburgh is a building that dates back to 1787, with reconstructions and extensions made in 1838, and a rear addition by John Chesser in 1852. This four-storey structure features a basement and an attic at the rear and was originally a classical club with a polished Craigleith sandstone ashlar facade. The basement has a round-headed door with a fine metal fanlight, likely relocated from an original doorway above. The basement is made of droved ashlar and includes a base course.

On the ground floor, the original three western bays have arcaded rustication and rectangular windows, along with a carved scrolled impost course. The eastern bay features a large porch supported by coupled Ionic columns, a full entablature, and a blocking course, leading to two-leaf panelled doors. The first floor has tall windows with a cill/band course, moulded architraves, cornices, and rosette friezes. The second floor has shorter windows with moulded architraves, while the third storey, or attic, has plain windows and a simple cornice.

The rear elevation is made of irregular rubble and includes a full attic storey. The eastern bay, which was added later, projects slightly and features a circular stair tower and a closet tower, both extending to the second floor, flanking a full-height shallow bow. There is also a single-storey and basement link to the rear extension.

The windows throughout are timber sash and case, with four- and six-pane designs and secondary glazing. The roof is piended and covered with grey slates, featuring dressed stone stacks. The rear includes blocks with both piended and pitched roofs.

Inside, the building has been thoroughly altered and subdivided. The large hall features a square cantilevered top-lit stair with cast-iron banisters from 1838, and a dentilled cornice with panelling that supports a circular cupola. The principal rooms on the first floor include an apsidal-ended room with a Venetian window and a service stair at the rear. There is considerable accommodation in the block at the rear, with a former billiard room that is noted for being top-lit.

The front walls are marked by a low coped wall with a base course, which has replaced traditional railings, and there are a pair of fine cast-iron lamp standards at the porch.