Detail of decorative finial at 2-18 Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh.

Description Detail of decorative finial at 2-18 Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh.

Date 27/5/2014

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number DP 190134

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content This shows the conical-roofed turret topped with a weathervane on the corner of 1 Cranston Street and 297-9 Canongate, Edinburgh. One of the earliest major redevelopments in this area was the creation of Jeffrey Street (along with St Mary's Street to the south) as the north-south route over the ridge of the Old Town. The Lord Provost at the time, William Chambers (1800-83, Lord Provost 1865-9) implemented the widening of several narrow streets and wynds in the Old Town as part of the City’s Improvement Act 1867. Alongside this, tenements were improved and new streets were created to provide access through the area. The southern section of Jeffrey Street was built roughly along the line of Leith Wynd from 1873 as a result of this Act. The northern section of Cranston Street (to the rear of these tenements) followed the line of Leith Wynd up to Calton Road. These tenements on Jeffrey Street and Cranston Street were built between 1873 and 1891, and they replaced smaller scale houses which were severely overcrowded. Built in the Scots Baronial style to designs by architects George Beattie & Sons (corner block at 287-9 Canongate, 1 Cranston Street and 2 Jeffrey Street) and 4-18 Jeffrey Street of 1891 by James Lessels (c.1834-c.1905) and Henry (Harry) Ramsay Taylor (1863/4-1922), featuring turrets, crowstepped gables and carved stone finials, with much improved facilities internally. Most of the shopfronts have been upgraded but many retain original features including decorative cast iron grilles below the windows.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1427827

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap