Edinburgh, 118, 122-144 Lothian Road, Lothian House
Commercial Office (20th Century), Flats (20th Century), Shop(S) (20th Century)
Site Name Edinburgh, 118, 122-144 Lothian Road, Lothian House
Classification Commercial Office (20th Century), Flats (20th Century), Shop(S) (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) 52-54 Fountainbridge; Semple Street
Canmore ID 131106
Site Number NT27SW 1044
NGR NT 24797 73111
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/131106
- Council Edinburgh, City Of
- Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District City Of Edinburgh
- Former County Midlothian
NT27SW 1044.01 24797 73111
NT27SW 1044.01 24765 73161 ABC Cinema (Regal Cinema)
ARCHITECT: Stewert Kaye, 1935 - 6
Pilkington Jackson - sculptor
REFERENCE
NMRS LIBRARY
Lion Foundry Co. Ltd: Illustrated Catalogue of cast-iron manufactures, Kirkintilloch, (196?) (See Bibliography) - contemporary photos of exterior
Project (1997)
The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (http://www.pmsa.org.uk/) set up a National Recording Project in 1997 with the aim of making a survey of public monuments and sculpture in Britain ranging from medieval monuments to the most contemporary works. Information from the Edinburgh project was added to the RCAHMS database in October 2010 and again in 2012.
The PMSA (Public Monuments and Sculpture Association) Edinburgh Sculpture Project has been supported by Eastern Photocolour, Edinburgh College of Art, the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, Historic Scotland, the Hope Scott Trust, The Old Edinburgh Club, the Pilgrim Trust, the RCAHMS, and the Scottish Archive Network.
Field Visit (2 August 1999)
Cast-iron rectangular reliefs form an interrupted frieze between piers of stone. Within each corrugated panel is a square depicting a worker or tree. Four trees and four trades are used in different combinations. The trees represent the four seasons: one has blossom, one has a rainbow, one has falling leaves, and one has rain and a flash of lightning. The workers are a builder, a brewer, a printer and a mill-worker. The builder has a trowel and level and is erecting a wall; the brewer has a cask beside him; the printer holds a book in his right hand and operates a printing press with his left; the mill-worker has equipment on either side of him.
Beneath the central windows above no.134 is a stone relief commemorating the site of Port Hopetoun. It is carved with a horse-drawn canal barge and three men, the above inscription, and the coat of arms of Edinburgh (on the left) and the coat of arms of Glasgow (on the right). On the left of the inscription is the horse with a man on each side of it; on the right is a man on the barge.
In 1922 Port Hopetoun was closed, the canal drained and filled in from Lochrin. The site lay derelict until 1936, when Lothian House was built. Originally named Somerset House, the name was changed to a Scottish one. It was built for the Inland Revenue Department, which occupied three floors. On the ground floor were shops. In 1938 the Regal Cinema was added at the Morrison Street end of the building.
Inscriptions : On stone relief, on ribbon pieces in centre (raised letters):
HERE / STOOD / PORT HOPETOUN / 1822 - 1922
Signatures : None Visible
Design period : 1935-1936
Year of unveiling : 1936
Unveiling details : Inland Revenue Department section of the building opened 28 October 1936
Information from Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA Work Ref : EDIN0022)
Standing Building Recording (23 November 2015)
AOC Archaeology Group was commissioned by Michael Laird Architects on behalf of their client to undertake an historic building survey of the redundant former office block located at 142 Lothian Road/Semple Street, Edinburgh.
Lothian House was built in 1936 to the west side Lothian Road, although the building to be demolished, is the 1950s extension of the building along Fountainbridge and Semple Street and the 1930s former Woolworths store to the rear. The basement, ground floor and first floor were still occupied at the time of survey. However, the second, third and fourth floors were all open with partitions removed revealing a reinforced steel superstructure with regular fenestration.
The two decorative window panels featuring a tree and bricklayer at work on the corner between Fountainbridge and Semple Street will be incorporated into the new design.
Information from Diana Sproat (AOC Archaeology Group) OASIS ID: aocarcha1-234966
Photographic Survey (18 November 2015)
Photographic survey of exterior carried out prior to the demolition of adjacent buildings 54a Fountainbridge and 6 Semple Street. Record upgraded with details of the Charles Pilkington Jackson panels and Art Deco entrance to flats (originally offices) on upper floors.
Information from HES Survey and Recording (IF) 18/11/2015.
Watching Brief (10 August 2016 - 2 November 2016)
NT 24799 73087 A watching brief was carried out, 10 August – 2 November 2016, during ground-breaking work. The removal of demolition material revealed foundations relating to 20th-century buildings associated with Lothian House, constructed during the 1930s and 1950s. The foundations
were cut through deposits of natural clay. No evidence of the Port Hopetoun terminus for the Grand Union Canal, known to occupy the site in the 19th century, was observed.
Archive: NRHE (intended)
Funder: Michael Laird Architects
Rob Engl – AOC Archaeology Group
(Source: DES, Volume 17)
