General view from west showing 39-41 Watson Crescent, Edinburgh.

Description General view from west showing 39-41 Watson Crescent, Edinburgh.

Date 27/8/2014

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

Catalogue Number DP 203082

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Watson Crescent was developed during the last quarter of the 19th century on land which previously fell within the North Merchiston House estate of James Walker Esq (1790-1856). Plots on the North Merchiston estate began to be feued in 1876, but Watson Crescent was not fully developed until around 1906, when it appears in its present form on the Ordnance Survey 1:1,056 map of this date. This shows the long sweeping crescent from its south-western end. The crescent comprises a continuous row of adjoining four-storeyed tenements on its southern side, mostly built in yellow sandstone with red sandstone dressings to windows and doors. This block of four adjoining tenements have large paired windows throughout which allow as much light into the properties as possible. The south side of Watson Crescent was originally occupied by two large curling ponds, as shown on the Ordnance Survey 2nd Edition 1:1,056 map of 1877, prior to any of the surrounding streets being developed. They are still shown on the Ordnance Survey 3rd Edition 1:1,056 map of 1895, when only a handful of plots had been developed on Watson Crescent. By the 1906 Ordnance Survey six-inch map, the curling ponds are replaced by the fully developed street, their site being occupied at 39-43 Watson Crescent by a footwear factory, built between 1895 and 1907 to designs by the architect Thomas Tolmie Paterson (1864-1933). This factory has recently (c.2003) been converted to flats, with an additional attic level built in a style in keeping with the rest of the street.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1459473

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap