32 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh

William Playfair, designed 1820-4; No 32 built between 1854 and 1859. Part of extremely long 121-bay palace front terrace of townhouses with arched and rusticated ground floor; to centre, 3-storey section punctuated by three 3-storey and attic Corinthian colonnaded pavilions; to left and right flanking 3-storey balustraded sections leading to 3-storey sections with 3-storey and attic Ionic colonnaded pavilions; 2-storey balustraded sections to outer left and right; basements to all houses. Painted droved ashlar to basement; V-chamfered rustication to ground floor; polished ashlar to upper floors; predominantly coursed squared rubble with dressed margins to rear elevation. To principal elevation: base course; dividing band between basement and ground floor; impost course to ground floor; dividing band between ground and 1st floors; to 1st floor, narrow band course broken by window to each bay; band course above 1st floor windows; eaves cornice; balustraded parapet.. Regular fenestration to principal elevation; predominantly regular fenestration to rear elevation; to ground floor, round-headed openings in round-headed overarches.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 2-storey, basement and attic, 3-bay elevation. To basement, timber-panelled door with 3-light fanlight to centre, windows to left and right bays; all in segmentally headed openings; area under platt blocked by wall with bipartite window. To ground floor, to right bay, steps and platt overarching basement recess, leading to timber-panelled door with flanking margin lights and segmental fanlight. To roof, 3 windows.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay elevation; advanced centre bay. Band course between basement and ground floors and between ground and 1st floors; eaves cornice; blocking course.

GLAZING etc: predominantly 6-pane glazing; to front elevation, plate glass to ground floor; all glazing in timber sash and case windows. M-pitched roof with central valley and mansard profile to front elevation; graded grey slate. To W, tall mutual corniced ridge stacks surmounted by linked octagonal flues, to E, non-original mutual ridge stack.

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. To rear, forming boundary of gardens, random rubble walling with predominantly flat coping.

INTERIOR: to ground floor: to lobby; pilastered walls, coffered barrel-vaulted ceiling. To 1st floor: former drawing room has been subdivided, good original plasterwork, replicated on non-original partition walls; remainder of 1st floor much altered with few remaining features. To stairs and landing: above stairs, large skylight with coffered cavetto surround, good plasterwork to landings, cast-iron balusters.