17 James' Court, 507 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh

503-505 Lawnmarket in Edinburgh is a five-storey and attic tenement building dating from around 1795. It features six bays and includes shops on the ground floor, with flat-arched entrances leading to pends (Mid and West Entries to James Court) located on the outer right and in the third bay from the left. The building is constructed of grey ashlar, which is painted at the ground level, while the rear is made of rubble. There is an eaves course along the top. The facade is regularly fenestrated, although the floor levels differ in three bays on both the left and right sides. The windows have projecting cills. The left side has a modern shop front that extends continuously to Milne's Court, while the shop on the right features a consoled, modillioned cornice and Corinthian pilasters. The attic contains four slated piend-roofed dormers, and there is a turnpike stair leading to the flats in the pend.

On the rear elevation facing James Court, there is a single bay to the left, which has a round-arched entrance to the pend. A narrow canted bay, which provides light to the stair, is located in the re-entrant angle. The central area has a broad projecting bay with tripartite windows on each floor, and there is a later harled flat-roofed single-storey building adjoining the ground. A narrow bay is situated above the pend. To the right, there is a four-storey piend-roofed wing that is regularly fenestrated, with a modern timber panelled door in a bolection-moulded surround leading to 17A on the north elevation.

The windows on the right feature 12-pane glazing, while the left side has plate glass, all within timber sash and case frames. The roof is covered with grey slates, and there are tall corniced stacks, with brick on the right side and stone on the left, topped with circular cans.