Cairney House, 26 York Road, Edinburgh

Cairney House, located at 26 York Road in Edinburgh, was designed by J Dick Peddie in 1854. This two-storey, three-bay house features a distinctive M-shaped roof and is now divided into separate units. The building is constructed from squared and snecked stugged cream sandstone, accented with pinkish-yellow ashlar dressings. Notable architectural details include a base course, buckle quoins, and roll-moulded surrounds around the windows. The gable ends are adorned with gabletted skews, stone finials, and bracketed gabletted skewputts, while wrought-iron rests are found at the ridge.

On the west (principal) elevation, the advanced gabled bay to the left showcases a two-storey, stepped-roof, three-light canted window, with stone panels separating the windows on both the ground and first floors. The date of construction, 1854, is carved into a panel in the gable. The entrance is located in the central bay and features a timber panelled door with a rectangular fanlight above. This is framed by a moulded stone doorpiece with a parapetted cornice supported by decorative consoles. Above the entrance, there is a small window on the first floor. The right bay contains a two-light window with a stone mullion on the ground floor, and a single window above that breaks the eaves at the gablehead, which also features a small carved motif.

The south (side) elevation includes a later external stair leading to a first-floor entrance. The windows predominantly consist of four-pane and plate glass in timber sash and case frames. The roof is covered with graded grey and blue slates and features wrought-iron cresting. The chimney stacks are made of decoratively corniced ashlar and snecked sandstone, lacking chimney cans.

Surrounding the property are low boundary walls made of ashlar-coped coursed sandstone. The entrance is marked by octagonal ashlar gatepiers topped with stepped conical caps and carved rosettes.