View of Chessel's Courtyard from South West

Description View of Chessel's Courtyard from South West

Date 13/9/1995

Catalogue Number C 61668

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 716146

Scope and Content View from the south-west of courtyard, Chessel's Court, No 240 Canongate, Edinburgh The original Chessel's Court was built from 1745, and consists of a group of tenements around an open courtyard off the Canongate. By the 1940s the area was in need of regeneration, and the architect Robert Hurd (d.1963) was employed to design new blocks in conjunction with the restoration of the historic original buildings. This was completed between 1958 and 1966. This shows the Modern sections of Chessel's Court. The block to the left has an arcaded lower floor which opens out onto Canongate on the other side. Both modern blocks have harled walls, tilting windows without glazing bars, and balconies onto the courtyard. The new sections of the development are four-storeyed in keeping with their historic neighbours. These Modern buildings stand opposite two original 18th-century blocks of restored mansion flats. This development is notable in being an early example of conservation of historic structures whilst creating contemporary homes within the same project. The Chessel's Court redevelopment has been selected as one of Scotland's key 20th-century Modern architectural monuments. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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