39-41 John Street, Penicuik

This building at 45 John Street in Penicuik dates from around 1845 and is a two-storey, eleven-bay symmetrical terrace designed in the style of Jacobethan almshouses, with a mirrored layout around the center. It is constructed from stugged, squared, and snecked cream sandstone, featuring droved ashlar dressings, raised margins, and chamfered arrises, with long and short quoins.

The west elevation, which serves as the entrance, has steps leading to doorways in the bays flanking the center and in the outer bays. These doorways include four-panel timber doors, a six-panel door in the bay to the left of center, with a plate glass rectangular fanlight above, and a diamond-pattern rectangular fanlight in the outer right bay. Above these doors are windows on the first floor, while the remaining bays feature regular fenestration with bipartite windows in the central bays at both the ground and first floors, alternating with single windows in other bays.

The north and south elevations each have single windows at both the ground and first floors. The east (rear) elevation was not seen in 1999 but includes boarded doors to a lean-to extension on the south side, a glass-panelled door and windows to a lean-to on the north side, and single windows on the first floor above.

The building predominantly features timber lozenge-pattern glazing, with some replacement small-paned timber sash and case windows at the rear. The roof is covered in grey slate and includes slate-hung rectangular dormers on the rear. The gable head and paired ridge stacks are made of ashlar and rendered materials, coped with circular and octagonal cans.

The interiors were not seen in 1999. There is a low, coursed, and coped boundary wall along the street.