27 Wilson Street, Perth

This is a double house, built in the 1920s as homes for partners in the building firm of Soutar and McQueen. Number 27 Wilson Street, the residence of the poet William Soutar from 1924 until his death in 1943, is included in the listing along with the adjoining property at Number 29, as they form a single building. The house was designed by Alexander K Beaton, and planning consent was obtained in 1923.

The building is broadly symmetrical in plan, resembling a double bungalow with a low, flat street frontage and two storeys to the flanks and rear. The exterior is harled, with a piend-roofed and slated design and broad eaves. Each house has a deeply recessed doorway that links with large timber-mullioned and transomed windows. Tall, narrow end stacks and projecting chimney breasts are also present, including a mutual axial stack. The rear wings are similar but not identical, and upper windows break through the eaves.

The residence was adapted in the 1930s to accommodate William Soutar, who was confined to his bed due to a debilitating illness. His father, a Master Joiner, enlarged a room to create space for Soutar's bed and a library of approximately 2,000 volumes. This room retains handsome timber panelling and mirrors, allowing Soutar to view his books and the room's entirety.

Internally, the house remains largely unaltered, though the kitchen and bathroom fittings are modern. The entrance hall and a room to the right, likely a dining room, are timber-panelled in a style similar to Soutar's bedroom. Fireplaces throughout feature coloured tiles and decorative chimney-pieces, with some upstairs rooms exhibiting Art Nouveau detailing. The maid’s room and access stairway at the rear are white-painted with contrasting wooden strips, resembling timber framing. A small conservatory is located at the rear, along with a deeply recessed garage on the flank. A low boundary/retaining wall runs along the street, with wrought iron gates, although most of the railings have been removed. In 1958, the house was donated to the Town Council of Perth as a memorial to the poet and has since served various purposes, including housing a 'writer in residence'.