52, 54 Port Street, Stirling

A Grade B listed building designed by Ebenezer Simpson in 1901, this is a tenement in the English Queen Anne style. The building presents as a near-symmetrical composition of 4 storeys with an attic, rising to 5 storeys at the rear, arranged across 3 bays. Shops occupy the ground floor, with offices on the first floor. A long 2-storey pre-existing rear wing to the northwest has been incorporated into the structure. The building is constructed of random rubble with later brick additions.

The principal southeast elevation facing Port Street is highly distinctive and decorative, featuring red-glazed bricks combined with richly modelled terracotta detailing. Pilastered margins rise from a corniced canopy at first floor height to full height, visually corresponding with pilastered margins of the adjacent buildings. The elevation is dominated by a heavy overhanging corniced canopy above the shopfront, which forms the base to mullioned and transomed timber canted windows on the first and second floors. These windows sit within slightly advanced outerbays and feature timber casements with upper coloured glass sections. The centre of the first floor displays a distinctive mullioned and transomed round-arched casement window with a multi-paned upper section. Decorative timber carved detailing sits between the canted windows across the storeys. The third floor has mullioned windows to slightly advanced outerbays (now fitted with modern plastic replacements), while above runs a terracotta balustrade. Timber mullioned gabled attic dormer windows are set behind the balustrade to the outerbays. A recessed round-arched close door with keystone is positioned off-centre to the left of the principal elevation. The advanced flanking shopfronts are probably remodelled from the inter-war period with later alterations.

The roof is gabled with grey slate, shared with adjoining properties, and features corniced stone apex stacks with circular cans. Flat roofs cover parts of the rear and the rear wing.

The southwest elevation is attached to 58-70 Port Street, whilst the northeast elevation is attached to 44-50 Port Street. The rear northwest elevation contains an advanced pre-existing 2-storey wing to the left (with a late 20th century flat-roofed kitchen block) and a 5-storey tenement recessed behind to the left with an advanced stairtower and advanced section to the right. A close door and landing sit at first floor level, further advanced out of the stairtower. Windows throughout include segmentally headed examples, some retaining timber sash and case sashes, bipartite windows to the stair, and coloured glass windows above the door to the close and in the re-entrant angle.

The interior has been significantly remodelled, particularly to the shops. The northwest shop retains beams with moulded insets. The rear wing features geometric leaded glass windows with a coloured glass wreath motif. The close preserves original glazed coloured tiles to dado height of the stair and a cornice to the ground floor vestibule. The northeast office at first floor is subdivided by panelled timber and glass partitions incorporating a number of counters, with a large subdivided room to the southeast and smaller rooms to the northwest. The space contains an assortment of doors including timber panelled examples with multi-panelled or acid-etched upper sections, and a WC to the rear north. Three rectangular raised skylights light the rear, with cornice throughout and floral and geometric plasterwork to the ceiling (the building was unoccupied at the time of survey in 2003). The southwest office at first floor is smaller than its northeast counterpart, comprising a central hall with rooms to the southeast and northwest, original chimneypieces to both rooms, and simple cornices (it was latterly used as a hairdressing salon, though also unoccupied in 2003). The flat to the second floor and attic was not inspected, but telephone consultation confirmed that some original features to the second floor flat remain. The third floor flat has been modernised.