66 Tay Street, Perth

John Young, 1879-1881; museum extended 1895, George Penrose Kennedy Young of John Young and Son; N end demolished after fire 1987 (see Notes). Well-detailed long range of tall 2-storey and attic, Flemish Renaissance (now, 2008) domestic and business premises with distinctive roof treatment, overlooking River Tay to E and Greyfriars Burial Ground to W. Stugged ashlar, base course, continuous ground floor hoodmould over round arched openings, dividing cill course, eaves cornice and quatrefoil pierced parapet. Segmental arched 1st floor windows, carved doorpieces, engaged columns with carved capitals, crowstepped gabled dormerheads and nepus gables articulate principal entrance bays. Some stone transoms and mullions. Raked cills, label stops, some with animal heads. Deep-set, single and 2-leaf, panelled and cross-braced timber doors under semicircular plate glass fanlights.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: CENTRE BLOCK (FORMER MUSEUM): symmetrical 9-bay centre block (bays grouped 2-5-2) with dominant outer towers. Centre bay with steeply-gabled projecting stone doorpiece with Masonic compass in mandorla on tympanum (see Notes) and carved capitals of small animals peering out of foliage, timber door with brass letterbox marked 'MUSEUM' and round arched dormerheaded attic window. Tower to right also with steeply-gabled doorpiece similar to above, machicolated nepus gable with square-headed window under stepped hoodmould and flanking corbelled 2-stage angle turrets. Tower to left piercing roofline above 1st floor and incorporating 2 windows at ground, corbelled tripartite oriel window at 1st floor, single window and gunloop above, and paired stack to left.

NOS 68 AND 70 (LEFT OF CENTRE): 5 asymmetrical bays (grouped 2-3) immediately to left of centre block comprising slightly projecting 2-storey and attic gabled bays at left with window and door below corbelled, tripartite oriel window and glazed arrowslit in gablehead; bays to right with centre window and flanking doors below regular fenestration, small later dormer to right behind parapet, both ground floor windows bipartite with decorative astragals.

NOS 72 AND 62, 64 (FLANKING OUTER BLOCKS): symmetrically disposed outer bays. Each block with regular fenestration flanking centre entrance bay. 5 bays to No 72 (grouped 2-1-2) at left (S) with arrowslit in stepped and shouldered nepus gable flanked by later set-back dormer windows. 9 bays to Nos 62 and 64 (grouped 4-1-4) at right (N) with columned doorpiece and round headed window below trefoil detail in crowstepped dormerhead. Door to outer right bay.

Plate glass glazing in timber sash and case windows. Grey slates. Coped ashlar stacks with some cans, ashlar-coped skews and gablet crowsteps. Cast iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers and fixings.