St Benets, 42 Greenhill Gardens, Edinburgh

St Benets is a two-storey, near-rectangular Scottish 17th-century villa, built around 1859 by John Henderson. A later adjoining chapel, designed by Robert Weir Schultz between 1950 and 1957, is listed separately. Alterations were carried out by Reginald Fairlie between 1930 and 1934. The villa is constructed of squared and snecked pink sandstone with polished dressings. A continuous cill course runs along the front facing the garden, and the gables are crowstepped. Window reveals are chamfered.

The north elevation features a flat-roofed porch, built between 1930 and 1934, which adjoins the house to the outer right and connects to the chapel. A roll-moulded doorway is adorned with a St Andrew panel and the motto "Salva me bona crux," and it leads to a deep-set boarded door. An advanced gabled bay is located to the outer right of the house. This bay has two single windows on the ground floor, a machicolated corbel table above, two slit windows on the first floor, and a single window in the gablehead. A tall, round-headed stairwindow is centrally positioned. A single window is located on the ground floor to the outer left. A high coped wall screens a piend-roofed garage adjoining the north side. A flat-roofed rendered garage and service wing are situated on the east side.

The south-facing garden elevation is three-bayed, with a rounded angle on the outer left, which breaks the eaves as a tower with a saddleback roof. There are paired single windows on both the ground and first floors, and a single window breaking the eaves within a pointed-arched pediment. A two-storey, five-light canted window is set in the central bay, topped with a slate roof. A segmental-arched window is located on the ground floor in the bay to the outer right, and a single window with a bracketed pediment is on the first floor above.

The west elevation is three-bayed and includes a linking block to the chapel at ground floor level. A single window with a corbelled pointed-arched pediment is positioned at first floor level in the first bay, and a single window at first floor level in the second bay. A square section bartizan, with slit windows, clasps the northwest angle of the saddleback-roofed tower.

The east elevation is M-gabled and features a flat-roofed service and garage wing at ground floor level. Two segmental-arched windows are located on the first floor in the centre, and a single window to the right. The windows throughout are generally small-pane sash and case, with plate glass sash and case windows on the south side. The roof is covered with grey slate, with corniced gablehead stacks, a double-shouldered wallhead stack to the north, moulded eaves guttering, and beak skewputts.

The interior features decorative plaster cornices, timber fireplaces, a timber balustrade and handrail, and a glass cupola over the entrance hall.