Ravelston House, Ravelston Dykes Road, Edinburgh

Ravelston House, Ravelston Dykes Road, Edinburgh

A substantial house built circa 1790 and substantially altered in the late 19th century, Grade A listed. The building comprises a 3-storey, 7-bay main block with a 4-storey central entrance tower on the north elevation and a 4-storey central bow on the south. A 3-storey, 4-bay extension extends to the west, with an east pavilion and west wing completing the complex. The exterior is constructed in polished sandstone ashlar with band courses at the first and second floors.

The principal north elevation features a distinctive 3-bay, 3-storey octagonal tower with vermiculated rusticated ground floor and a perron stair serving the principal floor. The first floor is arcaded with Ionic columns, featuring a central door with flanking single windows and a blind balustrade above. Single windows light the second and third floors on each face of the tower. To the east, a 2-bay, 2-storey section with regular fenestration leads to a 4-bay blind arcade, beyond which projects a 1.5-storey former pavilion with a central open arch and flanking windows. To the west of the tower, a 6-bay, 2-storey section with regular fenestration and a 4-bay arcaded basement precedes the projecting 1.5-storey, 3-bay west wing, which features a projecting centre bay, recessed arch, Serlian window, flanking bipartite and single lights, and a garage door to the west return.

The east elevation is a 3-bay, 3-storey gable-end with a central ground-floor door and wallhead with fire-escape and stair. A 5-bay Doric colonnade to the rear of the pavilion link contains doors in the outer bays, with modern infill between.

The south elevation centres on a 3-bay, 3-storey bow tower with single windows to the ground floor. A perron stair with cast-iron balcony serves the principal floor, and a carved shell fountain fronts the stair architraves. Single windows occupy each bay at the second and third floors, with an open balustrade above. Elliptical arched recesses with tripartite lights flank the bow at first-floor level, with single windows above and below. A 5-bay section to the west features a 5-bay Doric colonnade at ground floor with single windows in the second and fourth bays at first-floor level and in the first, third and fifth bays at second-floor level. The projecting 1.5-storey, 3-bay west wing mirrors that on the north side, with two windows and a door to the west return.

The west elevation is arranged as a U-plan courtyard with wings to north and south, round gatepiers with timber gate, and a 1.5-storey U-plan range. A 5-bay central range features regular fenestration with single-bay returns. The main house presents a single off-centre window at third-floor level with an attic dormer window above.

Windows throughout are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case. The slate roof is punctuated by wallhead stacks at the east and west gable ends and stacks along the roof ridge.

The interior displays Adamesque decoration, redecorated in 1915–16. The octagonal yellow entrance hall at ground floor features pilastered arched doorways to the southeast and southwest, with a classical fireplace on the south wall displaying a sacrificial relief at the mantel centre, flanked by classical medallions on the walls. The green room (Head's Office) to the rear in the south bow possesses a classical cornice with triglyphs, floral medallions, dentils and beading, some details gilded. Its door architrave cornice is decorated with triglyphs and urn motifs, while a rococo sunburst hangs at the light. The decorative chimneypiece incorporates an urn and griffins in the central section.

The pink music room at ground floor to the east extends the full length of the house. Its cornice displays floral medallions with egg-and-dart work above, sunbursts accent the light hangings, and Ionic pilasters articulate the walls. Egg-and-dart architrave frames punctuate the walls, one enclosing a vine relief. The decorative chimneypiece is enriched with floral garlands. A spearmint-coloured ground-floor room at the west facing south, formerly the dining room, features a decorative cornice with urn motifs to door cornices. Paired Ionic columns and pilasters stand toward the west end, while the fireplace displays attached Ionic columns, triglyph frieze and a rustic sacrificial scene at its centre. The beige stairwell at the west facing north exhibits a cornice of triglyphs and floral medallions, with an open-well staircase fitted with timber banister.