1 Duncan Street, Edinburgh

Circa 1825, 3 Duncan Street is a near-symmetrical, two-storey, 27-bay classical palace block of terraced houses, originally planned as three pavilions linked by flanking blocks. Cream sandstone ashlar construction features rusticated detailing at ground floor to the principal elevation. The design includes a base course, dividing band course, cill course to the first-floor windows, a cornice, and a blocking course, raised centrally with terminal dies to the central pavilion. A western pavilion was never built.

The east elevation, facing onto 39 Minto Street, presents a central pavilion of six bays with symmetrical detailing. Round-arched doorways are found in the outer bays, fitted with panelled doors and umbrella fanlights. No. 5 Duncan Street displays a doorpiece with Doric columns and a cornice, while No. 6 has Ionic columns. The first-floor windows are corniced and architraved with panelled aprons. The ground-floor windows are recessed with a rounded arch. The east pavilion comprises a three-bay, symmetrical block with a doorway to the outer right, a panelled door, and a plate glass fanlight. Linking blocks to the east and west are each nine bays wide and symmetrical, with doorways located in bays 1, 6, and 7, all fitted with panelled doors and fanlights. Reeded aprons grace the first-floor windows of the three central bays, while the outer bays feature panelled aprons. A single window sits above each doorway.

The east (Minto Street) elevation features a central doorway at first-floor level, with a panelled door and plate glass fanlight, framed by Ionic pilasters to a corniced doorpiece. Two attic windows are above, with single windows to both floors in the bays at the extreme left and right. A raised garden area bisects the ground-floor windows. A modern concrete staircase leads to the entrance door.

Most windows are timber sash and case with four panes (in No. 6) or twelve panes (in Nos. 1-5). The western linking block has plate glass, timber sash and case windows. A blind window is located within the first floor of the east pavilion, and blind windows are present on both floors of the east elevation in the bay to the extreme left and in the attic to the extreme right. The roof is covered in grey slate, with canted dormers on Nos. 2, 3, and 6 and boxed dormers on No. 9. The coped wallhead incorporates mutual ridge stacks and moulded cans.

The interiors were not inspected in 1995. Low, coped boundary walls with replacement railings border the street. A pedestrian gate adjoins the house at 39 Minto Street, connecting to the property to the south.