12 Walker Street, Edinburgh

12 Walker Street in Edinburgh is a notable terrace of classical townhouses designed by Robert Brown between 1822 and 1825. This 9-bay structure features a unified façade of 2- and 3-storey buildings, with main-door and common stair flats located behind. The slightly advanced corner block to the south has an end return to William Street and includes later additions to the attic. There is a basement area that includes some vaulted cellars and retaining walls.

The exterior is constructed from sandstone ashlar, with droved ashlar used for the basement and channelled ashlar at the ground floor. The entrance platts oversail the basement, and there are band courses at the ground, first, and second floors, along with a narrow banded string course at the first floor. The corniced eaves course features a shallow stepped parapet, while the two-storey houses have a balustraded parapet. The doors are timber 6-panel types with square-headed doorpieces and plain rectangular fanlights. The corner block to the south has an architraved, corniced, and bracketed surround. Additionally, there are cast-iron balconies on foliate brackets at the first-floor windows.

The south elevation facing William Street has three storeys and three bays, constructed from squared coursed rubble with droved ashlar long and short quoins, along with stone cills and lintels. It features a single window at the centre on the ground floor, first floor, and second storey.

The rear elevation is four storeys high, made of regular coursed rubble with some long and short ashlar quoins. It has an advanced and recessed wall plane with some later additions, and ashlar rybats, lintels, and sills to the irregular fenestration, some of which have relieving arches.

The windows are predominantly timber sash and case, featuring plate glass, with some having 12-pane and 6-over-9-pane configurations. The roof is a double pitch M-section covered with grey slates, and there are corniced ashlar gable end stacks with modern clay cans. The basement recess to the street is edged with cast iron railings on sandstone coping, topped with spearhead finials, and the building also features cast-iron rainwater goods.