17 Carlton Terrace, Edinburgh

Playfair, designed 1821-1825, built from late 1820s-mid 1830s. Part of long hairpin-curved terrace of 19 classical town houses; Nos 1-4 and 14-19, rectangular-plan houses with straight 3-bay front elevations; Nos 5-13, wedge-plan houses with curved 4-bay front elevations; predominantly 2-storey and basement with balustraded parapet; panelled parapets to Nos 1, 14 and 17. Droved ashlar to basements; polished ashlar to upper floors; predominantly coursed squared rubble with droved margins to side and rear elevations; No 17 rendered to W wallhead. Base course to basements; dividing band between basement and ground floors and ground and 1st floors; modillioned eaves cornice to front elevations, eaves band to rear elevations. Raised door surrounds with consoled cornices. Regular fenestration; architraved and corniced windows with panelled aprons to ground floor; architraved windows with cast-iron balconnettes to 1st floor.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: slightly advanced 3-storey and basement elevation with panelled parapet above modillioned cornice. To basement, timber-panelled door with 3-light fanlight to centre bay; windows to left and right bays. To ground floor, to right bay, steps and platt overarching basement recess leading to inlaid marble panel to platt and 2-leaf timber-panelled door with rectangular fanlight. 2nd floor cill course.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: 2-bay elevation with additional central window to attic floor.

GLAZING etc: predominantly 12-pane glazing; 15-pane glazing to 1st floor to front elevation; glazing predominantly in timber sash and case windows. Platform roof; graded grey slate to pitched section; stone skews and skewputts. To front, mutual rendered and ashlar to stacks to left and right; to rear, rendered mutual stacks to left and right; all stacks corniced with predominantly circular cans. Some cast-iron rainwater goods.

RAILINGS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: to front, edging basement recess and platt, stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings with dog bars, spear-head finials and distinctive circled border; wrought iron lamp standard to right of platt. To rear, forming boundary of garden, random rubble walls with predominantly flat coping.

INTERIOR: to ground floor: to lobby, pilastered timber screen with central door and flanking lights, good plasterwork, compartmented ceiling. To 1st floor: former drawing room with good plasterwork including ceiling rose, non-original timber chimneypiece. To stair and stair hall: oval cupola in compartmented ceiling; stone stairs with cast-iron balusters (altered to 2nd floor); good plasterwork to ceiling, landings and ground floor.