Railings And Pier, Vaults, Wall, Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh

This structure, built around 1875, consists of a curved retaining wall that supports the sloping ground to the north of Jeffrey Street. Beneath the wall are round-arched vaults that lead to East Market Street, which decrease in size from east to west as the street descends. The wall is adjacent to a tenement at its eastern end and is constructed from ashlar-coped squared and snecked rock-cut sandstone, featuring rusticated voussoirs for the vaults. There is a moulded string course on the eastern side. The western section has cast-iron railings with bowed stays and finials. At the western end, there is a corniced octagonal sandstone terminal pier, which may have previously served as a lamp standard, now topped with a modern wrought-iron flower. The vaults have boarded timber doors, and the arches on the eastern side are filled with brick and feature louvred openings, while some fretted ventilation panels are present on the western side.