7, 8 Haddington Place, Edinburgh

This is a substantial, early 19th-century classical tenement range built in 1825 by Robert Brown. It fronts Haddington Place in Edinburgh, with a curved corner junction with Annandale Street. The building features advanced three-bay pavilions to the left and right, creating a symmetrical design with 15 bays facing Haddington Place and 3 bays along the corner elevation.

The exterior is predominantly polished ashlar, with some painted sections on the ground floor; droved ashlar to the basement of the Haddington Place elevation and the right side of the rear (southwest) elevation; and coursed squared rubble with dressed margins to the rear. A dividing band separates the basement from the ground floor, and a continuous cornice runs along the ground floor. A cast iron trellis balconette is present on the first floor, with a cill band on the second. A band course and main cornice sit between the second floor and the attic, topped by eaves cornices and a balustraded parapet. The parapet is solid on the pavilions, featuring sunk panelling and a St Andrew's cross detail in the centre, while the curved corner elevation displays a strigilated panel with a rosette flanked by large scrolls. Regular fenestration defines the building; the first-floor windows have architraves and cornices, with consoled pediments adorning the central bay of the pavilions and the corner elevation. The second-floor windows are similarly architraved.

The northeast corner elevation features hoodmoulded round-arched openings leading to the basement via a T-plan stair. A modern two-leaf glazed door with a segmental fanlight is centrally positioned. Six Roman Ionic columns divide the bays on the ground floor, paired flanking the central bay and single on the outer edges.

The southeast (Haddington Place) elevation includes recessed doorways framed by fluted Ionic columns in the left pavilion's central bay and the centre section. Paired antae divide the bays of the central section, with doorways to the two outer bays to the left and right. The original arrangement of the right pavilion’s centre bay has been altered, now housing a window with a door to the right bay. All doors are timber panelled, with a two-leaf timber and glazed door in the left pavilion and a four-light fanlight. A six-pane fanlight is present above the right pavilion’s door, while the outer left bay of the central section has a blocked fanlight. Steps and a platt overarching the basement recess are situated at each doorway. The left half of the range incorporates shops to the basement, extending beneath the platts, with timber panelled and glazed doors and panelled jambs.

The southwest (side) elevation is slightly canted in the centre.

Most windows retain their original 12-pane timber sash and case glazing, with 15-pane glazing to the first floor and multi-pane glazing in the basement shop windows. The roof is double-pitched with grey slates, stone skews and skewputts. A corniced, polished ashlar gablehead stack with chamfered corners is located on the southwest side, and five corniced, polished ashlar ridge stacks with chamfered corners are positioned along the front pitch. There are also three corniced rendered ridge stacks to the rear pitch, and three corniced rendered wallhead stacks to the rear. All stacks are topped with circular cans. Stone copes, edging the basement, support distinctive ornate cast iron railings.