Lothian College Of Nursing And Mid-Wifery, 79 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh

Lothian College of Nursing and Midwifery, built in 1879 by MacGibbon and Ross, is a former maternity hospital situated at 79 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh. The building has undergone later alterations and additions. It is an asymmetrical building arranged in a U-shape, spanning two storeys, a basement, and an attic. The exterior is constructed from squared and snecked sandstone, with coursed rubble on the sides and rear, and features ashlar dressings. A finialed, slated, louvred lantern serves as a ventilator on the central ridge.

The north elevation, facing Lauriston Place, has eight bays. The central bay contains the main entrance, which features a pair of timber panelled doors with a plate glass fanlight, sidelights and arched panes, all set within a heavy, hoodmoulded semicircular arched surround that has a blank panel above. A single window is positioned on the first floor, and a shoulder-arched window sits within a gabled dormerhead in the attic, accompanied by a splayed chimney stalk. Stone-mullioned bipartite windows are found on the basement, ground, and first floors in the flanking bays. There are three small, finialed, king-posted dormers in the attic on each side. Slightly projecting, gabled two-bay outer blocks feature regular window placement (the left block has stone-transomed windows with top-hoppers at ground and first floors and a narrow window to the gable), with gablehead chimney stacks. A square-section corner tower is located on the outer right, topped with a ball finialled, slated conical roof and a moulded band at the second floor level acting as a hoodmould to the window.

The west elevation’s outer left is dominated by the corner tower, which has a moulded band at the third and fourth floor levels. An advanced gabled bay to the inner left includes bipartites, a ground floor door, and high-transomed windows with top hoppers above. A fourth-floor door is present with a bracketed metal balcony. The three central bays feature stone-mullioned bipartites to the basement, ground, and first floors, with gabled dormerheads interrupting the eaves in the attic. A polygonal tower corbels outward at the third floor level to the outer right, featuring windows on each facet and topped with a slated, ball-finialled conical roof.

The south (rear) elevation follows a U-plan, with lower, piend-roofed angled blocks at the southern end of the wings. Single windows are positioned in all bays, alternately breaking the eaves at attic level. Later additions include doors at ground level, as well as advanced bays containing stairs and a lift shaft. A later timber-covered bridge connects the building to No 1 Lauriston Park.

Windows to the former wards are characterised by high-level transomes and top hoppers above sash and case windows. The roof is covered in grey slates, with stone skews and corniced wallheads, gableheads, and ridge stacks (although visible cans are absent).

Low ashlar-coped rubble walls with cast-iron railings define the basement area.