8 Nile Grove, Morningside, Edinburgh

This is a large, irregular-plan villa dating probably to 1880 and likely designed by R Rowand Anderson. It is built in a Queen Anne and Scottish 17th century style and includes a rear service wing and a later extension. The front is constructed of cream-coloured sandstone, with squared and snecked rubble facing, dressed ashlar dressings, and squared and snecked stugged rubble to the rear and sides. A base course, roll-moulded reveals to the front and west elevation, ashlar mullions and transoms, and thistle finials are notable features.

The north (Nile Grove) elevation has three bays. A gabled bay on the left features a two-storey canted window with transomed lights, and a single window with an open swan-neck pediment in the gablehead. The central bay has a single transomed window on the ground floor and a pedimented single window on the first floor, above a small tripartite timber dormer with a half-piend roof. The bay to the right contains a projecting transomed tripartite window at ground floor, a corniced bipartite window on the first floor above, and a bipartite timber dormer with a finial to the half-piend roof and a curved stone apron.

The west (entrance) elevation also has three bays with advanced gabled outer bays. A single-storey, flat-roofed, closed entrance porch stands in the centre bay, above which is a single window. The porch has a cornice and parapet, an architraved doorway on its north return with narrow sidelights containing etched glass, a two-leaf panelled door, a tiled vestibule and a pilastered panel with floral carvings as a fanlight. A bipartite window is visible to the west. The bay to the left has a single corniced window at ground and first floor levels, along with a single window with a dated semi-circular pediment in the gablehead. The bay to the right features a single and bipartite window at ground floor and a canted, corbelled oriel window at first floor, rising through the eaves to a rooftop balcony with turned timber columns and balustrade, culminating in sweeping eaves to a half-pyramidal finialled roof. A blank pedimented tablet is present on the north return. A lower, two-storey extension, incorporating a regrettable later addition, features two bipartite windows at ground floor and a single window at first floor.

The south (rear) elevation includes a large, two-storey, flat-roofed service wing and single-storey additions to the left and centre bays, with a bipartite and single window to the right bay. Two tall, shouldered and corniced wallhead stacks are linked by a modern dormer. A small dormer with a half-piend roof is positioned on the right.

The east elevation displays a large modern escape stair on the left alongside two single windows at ground and first floor levels of the centre bay and two transomed windows to the right bay. Again, two tall, shouldered and corniced wallhead stacks are present, linked by a slate-hung wall with a secondary entrance.

Replacement uPVC windows are fitted throughout. A green slate roof with red ridge tiles covers the building, accompanied by four wallhead stacks as described. Moulded skewputts are visible, as are moulded eaves gutters and gutterheads.

The interior was not inspected in 1992.

The site is enclosed by a tall rubble wall with semi-circular coping to the rear and sides, a lower wall to the front with curved coping, and panelled boundary piers with moulded coping.