Officers' Mess, Redford Infantry Barracks, Colinton Road, Edinburgh

This is an L-plan Officers' Mess building, dating from 1915, designed by Harry B Measures as part of Redford Infantry Barracks, situated on Colinton Road, Edinburgh. It is accompanied by a single-storey stable block located to the west.

The Officers' Mess is a three-storey structure with 25 bays, constructed from dark, coursed rock-faced rubble and dressed with pale ashlar. A base course, band courses defining each floor, and an eaves course are present. Projecting cills are characteristic of the windows. The principal northwest-facing elevation features an advanced section at ground level with a lean-to roof, and additional single-storey, square pavilions at each end. Advanced gables are positioned centrally and at both ends, featuring pinnacles on the sides. The main entrance is through a two-leaf, half-glazed timber panelled door set within a rusticated doorway topped with a semicircular pediment. An oculus window sits centrally above the three-bay gable. Tripartite windows are found on the ground floor, while paired windows characterize the upper floors. The pavilions have Diocletian windows and a blocking course. The end bay gables each span four bays, incorporating central, advanced chimney stacks.

The rear elevation presents a central round-arched doorway with a key stone, flanked by windows. Large canted bays are situated at ground level. A central gable is topped with an oculus, and the end gables feature Diocletian windows. Fenestration is largely regular with windows typically arranged in groups of three.

The windows are primarily timber sash and case, with 12 panes to the upper floors. Ground floor windows are timber casements with small panes. The rear elevation showcases plate-glass casement windows with small-paned upper portions at ground level. The substantial chimney stacks are distinguished by their wide cornices. The roof is covered with grey graded slates and raised skews.

The interior, inspected in 2016, organises public rooms on the ground floor with residential accommodation above. The dining room boasts a parquet timber floor and two carved timber fire surrounds, each marked with the date 1915. Other formal rooms also feature carved timber fire surrounds, and there is some simple decorative cornicing present. The entrance hall contains round-arched openings, while the staircases are notable for their decorative metal balusters and timber banisters.

The rectangular stable block to the west is also built from dark, coursed rock-faced rubble with pale ashlar dressings. The stalls occupy the western side, with offices and a tack room on the east. A gabled section rises above a pair of cart-arch openings on the east side. Doors are mostly boarded timber, with occasional part-glazed doors. Windows are timber sash and case with a 6-pane over 9-pane glazing pattern.

The stable block interior, viewed in 2017, features a timber-lined roof and timber stalls with metal separating posts.