17 Drummond Place, Edinburgh

18 Drummond Place is a terrace of houses built in 1804 by Robert Reid and William Sibbald, with subsequent design alterations in 1818 by Thomas Bonnar. It forms a near-symmetrical composition of 17 bays, incorporating a 4-storey and basement terminal pavilion to the north and a 4-storey and basement, 5-bay terminal pavilion to the south, with a 3-storey and basement, 6-bay linking block between them. The building is constructed from polished ashlar sandstone, with V-jointed rustication at the principal floor and rock-faced rustication at the basement.

The principal (east) elevation of the linking block features a pair of doors in the central bays at the principal floor, each with a fanlight – a radial, semicircular fanlight to the left, and a plate glass, rectangular fanlight to the right. The remaining bays on the principal floor have windows, with regular fenestration above. A flagged basement area is visible, with rubble walls.

The south terminal pavilion connects to the east terminal pavilion of numbers 2-42 Great King Street and is viewed in conjunction with that building. The north terminal pavilion, slightly recessed to the outer right, includes a round-arched doorpiece in the bay to the left of centre with a radial, semicircular fanlight, and a recessed doorpiece in the outer right bay, with a radial, rectangular fanlight, both at the principal floor. Windows are set within round-arched recesses on the principal floor, with regular fenestration to the floors above. Ionic pilasters define the bays at the first and second floors, while panelled pilasters mark the bays on the third floor. Blank aprons are situated below the first-floor windows, except for that on the outer right. A flagged basement area is present, again with rubble walls. The north elevation is partially obscured by the adjoining terrace at numbers 3-7 Dundonald Street.

The building retains predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows, alongside predominantly 6-panel, flush-beaded timber doors to the basement. The roof is covered with grey slate, with cast-iron rainwater goods. Chimneys are prominent, featuring broached ridge stacks with ashlar skews, broached and rendered, shouldered wallhead stacks coped with circular cans.

Interior details were not visible during a 1997 inspection, but evidence suggests the presence of working panelled shutters. Original ironwork includes ashlar copes topped with cast-iron railings featuring spear-headed balusters and pineapple finials, along with railing-mounted cast-iron lamps with glass globes.