Ellesmere Buildings, Esplanade, Lerwick

Ellesmere Buildings, located on the Esplanade in Lerwick, is a three-storey, three-bay tenement built in 1906. It features a chamfered corner bay on the west side and an angled two-bay elevation on the east side. The principal elevations are made of stugged squared and snecked sandstone, showcasing Renaissance detailing, with polished ashlar dressings. The rear elevation is constructed from harl-pointed stugged rubble.

The south elevation is near-symmetrical, with an additional chamfered corner bay on the left. The main entrance is centrally located at the ground floor, flanked by panelled pilasters that support paired brackets at the frieze and segmental pediments above the cornice. The first and second floors feature tripartite windows, with the second-floor windows corniced and rising into a raised and corniced parapet adorned with carved panels and pyramidal finials. There are bipartite windows in the left bay at both the first and second floors, while the chamfered corner bay is blank at the ground level, with a corniced window at the second floor that rises into the raised wallhead.

On the east elevation, there is a six-panel, two-leaf timber shop door with a plate glass fanlight at the ground level, located near the corner. This door is flanked by strip pilasters that match those on the south elevation. To the right, there is a two-pane timber fixed-light shop window at the ground level, with tripartite windows above. The eaves are topped with a corniced parapet, which is surmounted on the right by a corniced pediment featuring a circlet in the tympanum.

The north (rear) elevation is irregularly fenestrated and includes three wallhead stacks and two gabled dormers that break the eaves. The building has timber sash and case windows, primarily with two-pane lower sashes and six-pane upper sashes. The roof is covered with purple-grey slate and features red ridge tiles, along with cast-iron gutters and downpipes. The west gable has a stugged and coped apex stack with circular cans.