Edinburgh Thistle Clubhouse, 29 Braid Hills Approach, Edinburgh

The Edinburgh Thistle Clubhouse, located at 29 Braid Hills Approach, Edinburgh, comprises two distinct buildings constructed in 1897 and 1933, both designed by the City Architects Department. The earlier building, a former entrance lodge and golfers' shelter, was likely designed by James A Williamson, Deputy City Architect, under the direction of Robert Morham, City Architect. It's situated on rising ground within the Braid Hills golf course, offering panoramic views of Edinburgh. This building is a two-story structure with a symmetrical, rectangular plan and three bays, incorporating houses for the park officer and greenkeeper. It is characterized by a pebble-dashed exterior with polished red ashlar sandstone dressings, a battered base course, and a cill course. The roof features deeply overhanging eaves and exposed rafter ends, sweeping over a covered veranda supported by timber posts. Mock-castellated curved towers flank the sides. Steps with curved approach walls lead to the entrance through the veranda, which features two timber and glazed double doors and timber windows. Timber entrance doors to the flanking houses, originally for the golf professional and greenkeeper, have serpentine, roll-moulded architraves. The windows are sash and case, with small panes in the upper sash at ground floor and casement windows with small pane glazing on the first floor. The roof is red-tiled, with slightly tapered chimney stacks topped with red clay cans. Decorative cast-iron rainwater goods with hoppers are also present. Internally, the building features panelled timber doors, plain plaster cornices, a timber chimney piece, and a timber-boarded dado in the central golfers' room. Curved press doors are found in the upper floor rooms of the houses, along with cast-iron chimney pieces.

The second clubhouse, opened on 13 July 1933, was designed by Alexander Garden Forgie, Deputy City Architect, assisted by Tom Smith, under Ebenezer MacRae, City Architect. This two-story, three-bay, rectangular building matches the style and materials of the 1897 structure and is situated on a sloping site. Constructed in pebble-dashed brick with red ashlar sandstone dressings and details, it includes a starters' box at ground floor to the right of the entrance. The front elevation features steps leading to a partly enclosed lobby area, with a balcony above featuring wrought-iron balusters set between piers rising from ground level. A later addition includes exterior flights of steps on the east elevation. The lobby provides access via two-leaf timber and glazed doors, with windows on either side. The roof sweeps upward to create a canted bay to the south, also providing a view of the city. Windows are timber sash and case, with a 12-pane glazing pattern, while lobby windows have a 15-pane pattern. Some lobby windows are constructed from non-traditional materials. The interior, as observed in 2012, includes some timber-lined rooms and panelled doors.