31 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh

31 Royal Terrace is a townhouse built between 1854 and 1859, designed by William Playfair as part of a very long, 121-bay palace front terrace. It forms part of an extremely grand composition of townhouses, incorporating arched and rusticated ground floor detailing and a central three-storey section punctuated by Corinthian colonnaded pavilions. Further pavilions with Ionic columns, balustraded sections, and a two-storey balustraded section are positioned to the left and right, leading to the main section. The building includes basements to all the houses in the terrace.

The exterior is constructed of droved ashlar for the basement, V-chamfered rusticated ashlar to the ground floor, and polished ashlar for the upper floors. The rear elevation is predominantly of coursed squared rubble with dressed margins. The principal (north) elevation features a base course, bands separating the basement and ground floor, and the ground and first floors. A narrow band course runs above the first-floor windows, and there’s an eaves cornice and a balustraded parapet. Fenestration is regular on the front, with predominantly regular fenestration to the rear. The ground floor features round-headed openings within round-headed arches.

The north elevation is a two-storey, basement and attic, three-bay structure. The basement has a timber-panelled door with a segmental fanlight at the centre, with windows to the left and right, all within segmental arches. A blocked area sits beneath a platt. The ground floor has steps leading to a timber-panelled door with margin lights and a segmental fanlight. The roof has three windows.

The south (rear) elevation is a three-bay design, with an advanced central bay. It includes bands separating the basement and ground floors, and the ground and first floors, and an eaves cornice.

Most windows have six panes of glass. Plate glass is present in the basement, while the ground floor windows contain plate and stained glass, all within timber sash and case windows. The roof is M-pitched, with a central valley and a mansard profile to the front, covered in graded grey slate. Tall, corniced ridge stacks with linked octagonal flues are located on the east side.

Cast-iron railings with dog bars, spear-head finials, and a circled border line the front basement recess and platt resting on a stone coping. A random rubble boundary wall with predominantly flat coping defines the rear garden boundary.

Inside, the ground floor lobby features a coffered barrel-vaulted ceiling.