Edinburgh, Heriot Row, General

141. Heriot Row, with a representative house.

In building the New Town the Corporation spent large sums in making new streets – Hanover Street, Frederick Street and Castle Street - which, on completion, opened up communication with the neighbouring lands on the N., the property of the Governors of Heriot's Hospital. These lands thus became ripe for development. Accordingly, about the beginning of the 19th century the Governors had a feuing-plan of the area prepared by Reid and Sibbald (1). This scheme was on the lines of Craig's plan, but in it the rigidity of Craig's "grid-iron" was tempered by the introduction of curved lines. As happened in the case of Craig's scheme, where Princes Street, originally a subsidiary street, became the principal thoroughfare, so in this extension of the town Heriot Row and its continuation Abercromby Place became more important than Great King Street with its terminals, Royal Circus and Drummond Place. For the Heriot Row properties feu-charters were granted at various dates from 1803 onwards. The earliest part of the street is the stretch between Hanover and Frederick Streets. This has been designed as a unit with central and terminal blocks of five storeys, each bearing a pediment and entablature. The houses between these blocks originally had a storey less, but many of them have subsequently been raised in height, as may be seen by reference to Kirkwood's elevation map of 1819.

Number 5 Heriot Row may be taken as typical of the terrace-houses in this street. It was already built and in occupation by 1805, the feu-charter being granted in 1808. The front is of ashlar, rock-faced on the basement floor, channel-jointed at the street level, and polished on the superstructure. The garret, as in the case of the neigh-bouring houses, has been replaced by a full storey, and the original wall-head is marked by a moulded cornice which now returns above the first-floor windows. There is an upper cornice at the later wall-head. The first-floor windows have moulded architraves and cornices; the other windows are plain. The entrance, situated at the S.E. corner, opens into a vestibule with an enriched ceiling and a festooned frieze. The walls are panelled in plaster above the dado rail, the E. wall also bearing a plaque with figures in relief and the W. wall containing a niche surmounted by festoons. A pillared arcade at the N. end of the vestibule screens the staircase beyond, from which the three rooms on the street floor are entered. The one at the S.W. corner of the house is the library. This has two windows facing S. On the W. is the fireplace with a particularly good carved mantelpiece of pine which, however, is understood to have replaced an original mantelpiece of marble. The walls have dado panelling, plaster panelling and an enriched cornice. The dining-room occupies the N.W. corner of the house. Its N. end is circled, while the S. end contains a deep recess for a sideboard. On the W. is a pine mantelpiece with stucco enrichment, which may also be a replacement. The walls have dado panelling, plaster panelling, and an enriched cornice. The third room, at the N.E. corner, was originally a small dressing-room. This has become a service pantry.

The basement floor, devoted to the kitchen and servants' quarters, is of no special interest. The first floor has three rooms, of which the drawingroom, situated above the vestibule and library, is the largest. It is L-shaped and is lit from the S. by three windows. On the W. is a carved mantelpiece of pine as fine as that in the library and likewise, it is understood, an insertion. The walls have plaster panelling and an enriched cornice. Above the dining-room there is the principal bedroom, which also has a circled N. end. On the W. the original mantelpiece of white marble is intact. The walls have dado panelling. Above the pantry there is a dressing-room which has been converted into a bathroom. On the second floor there are two bedrooms over the drawing-room, a third over the principal bedroom having, like it, a circled N. end, and a fourth room at the N.E. corner with a bathroom beside it. None is of any special interest. The staircase is spacious. Below the first-floor landing it is enriched with a band bearing lion-masks and surmounted by niches. A similar band occurs below the second-floor landing. The circular cupola by which the staircase is lit is enriched with plaques. The scale-and-platt stair has stone steps, cast-iron balusters and a mahogany rail.

RCAHMS 1951, visited c.1941

(1) Edinburgh 1329-1929, p. 408.

*This building was divided into fiats while the foregoing account was in the press; the description remains valid, however, as that of a typical house of the period in question.