6 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh

A townhouse designed by William Playfair between 1820 and 1824, with No. 6 built between 1823 and the early 1830s. The building forms part of an extremely long, 121-bay palace-front terrace of townhouses. The principal elevation displays an arched and rusticated ground floor, with the centre marked by a 3-storey section with attic punctuated by three 3-storey and attic Corinthian colonnaded pavilions. To the left and right are 3-storey balustraded sections leading to 3-storey sections with 3-storey and attic Ionic colonnaded pavilions; 2-storey balustraded sections occupy the outer left and right. All houses have basements.

The principal north elevation presents a painted droved ashlar basement; V-chamfered rustication to the ground floor; and polished ashlar to the upper floors. The rear elevation is predominantly coursed squared rubble with dressed margins. The principal elevation features a base course, dividing bands between basement and ground floor and between ground and first floors, an impost course to the ground floor, a narrow band course to the first floor broken by a window in each bay, band courses above the second floor, an eaves cornice, and a balustraded parapet. Fenestration is regular to both principal and rear elevations.

The north elevation is a 3-bay, 3-storey and basement composition. To the basement are windows to the left and right bays, with a timber-panelled door and 3-light fanlight at the centre bay, all set in segmentally-headed openings. The ground floor features, to the left bay, steps and a platt (conjoined with those of No. 7) overarching a basement recess and leading to a timber-panelled door with flanking margin lights and a segmental fanlight with petal-style glazing. Cast-iron balconettes adorn the first-floor windows.

The south rear elevation is 2 bays (3 bays to the ground floor), 3-storey and basement. A band course divides the ground and first floors, with an eaves cornice and blocking course above. To the ground floor, the left bay contains French windows leading into a timber and glazed conservatory; the centre bay has a timber-panelled door with a 6-pane fanlight above; the right bay contains a window with a mezzanine window above.

Glazing is predominantly 12-pane; the principal elevation features 17-pane glazing to the ground floor and 15-pane glazing to the first floor, while the rear elevation has 6-lying-pane glazing to the ground floor right bay. Glazing is predominantly in timber sash and case windows. An M-roof with central valleys is covered in graded grey slate with stone skews and skewputts. To the east and west are mutual corniced ashlar ridge stacks to front and rear pitches, predominantly with circular cans.

The front railings edge the basement recess and platt, comprising stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings with dog bars, spear-head finials and a distinctive circled border. A wrought-iron gas-lamp standard stands to the right of the platt. The rear boundary of the garden is formed by a random rubble wall with flat coping; the south end is surmounted by cast-iron railings.

The ground floor interior includes a lobby with a round-headed niche, compartmented ceiling, good plasterwork and a pilastered timber screen with glazed door and flanking margin lights and petal-pattern segmental fanlight above. The former dining room features good ornate plasterwork and a ceiling rose, with a non-original chimneypiece. A small service room leads to a rear room (west) with good ornate cornicing (non-original ceiling rose).

The first floor contains a former drawing room with a grey marble chimneypiece and good ornate cornicing (non-original ceiling rose); a rear room (west) with good ornate cornicing, ceiling rose and grey marble chimneypiece; a front room (east) with good ornate cornicing; and a rear room (east) with plain cornicing.

Stone cantilevered stairs with slender cast-iron balusters rise through the house, with an oval cupola above the stairwell. Good plasterwork appears to the stairwell ceiling and landings.