Edinburgh, 19 Winton Loan, Morton House
Country House (18th Century), Sundial (18th Century)
Site Name Edinburgh, 19 Winton Loan, Morton House
Classification Country House (18th Century), Sundial (18th Century)
Canmore ID 51716
Site Number NT26NE 45
NGR NT 25438 67768
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/51716
- Council Edinburgh, City Of
- Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District City Of Edinburgh
- Former County Midlothian
(NT 2543 6777) Morton House (NAT)
OS 6" map (1958)
Morton House, the dower-house of the Mortonhall estate belongs to two periods. The E portion was built or rebuilt in 1709 (carved on a dormer) and seems to be based on the remains of an older building. At the SE corner is a plain tabular sundial dated 1713. A new entrance-front, typically late Georgian in appearance, was added at the beginning of the 19th century. The W gateway is flanked by a pair of square pavilions, contemporary with the E part of the house. The one to the N is a dovecot.
RCAHMS 1951; A N Robertson 1945
Generally as described above. The N pavilion has an ogee roof. It housed a carriage on its ground floor with a dovecot above.
Visited by OS (RD) 6 January 1970
No change to previous field report.
Visited by OS (SFS) 22 October 1975
NT26NE 45.00 25438 67768
NT26NE 45.01 25390 67773 Pavilions, Entrance Gateway and Boundary Wall
NT26NE 45.02 25505 67628 Belvedere
NT26NE 45.03 25445 67784 Garage, Walled Courtyard and Well
Owner: W A Elliot
NMRS REFERENCE
Plans: Schomberg Scott
Re-roofing South pavillion at entrance and scheme for gate piers and wrought iron railings.
Publication Account (1951)
190. Morton House, Frogstone Road .
The dower-house of the Mortonhall estate stands within a policy on the S. side of Frogstone Road. Its E. portion is a little country-house of Queen Anne's time which seems to be based on the remains of an older building; to the W. side of this a new entrance-front was added towards the beginning of the 19th century. This front overlooks a carriage sweep, the entrance to which is flanked by a pair of square pavilions. These are contemporary with the E. part of the house, but they have been altered; the one to the N. still retains the original ogival roof while the pyramidal roof of the one to the S. is more recent. In the early eighteenth century the house was L-shaped, the main block running N. and S. and a wing projecting E. from its N. end to overlook a kitchen court on the N. The main block contains two storeys and an attic, while the wing, as the result of an alteration, has a storey less and the present lean-to roof is not the origin alone. The masonry is of rubble throughout, the window margins being back-set and chamfered. On the E. elevation (Fig. 404 [SC 1469266]) there is a central gablet with scrolled skew-puts. On either side of this there is a dormer, the one to the S. bearing the date 1709, the year in which this part of the house was built or remodelled. There is nothing of particular interest to be seen inside the main block but in the wing there is a wooden staircase with flat, shaped balusters. The room on the E. of the staircase was evidently the kitchen, for the arch of the fireplace can still be seen in the gable and a heavy chimney stalk rises above the existing roof. At the S.E. corner of the wing there is a plain tabular sundial bearing the date 1713. A rounded projection at the S.E. corner of the kitchen court is said to contain a draw-well.
The later part of the house is a typical late Georgian front containing a central vestibule and staircase with a room at each side. The S. room on the ground floor has a pine mantelpiece, its frieze enriched in stucco with a pastoral scene.
RCAHMS 1951, visited c.1941
