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Summary

Description

Dating from around 1690, four-storey and attic, five-bay tenement with three crowstepped wallhead gables and shop at ground floor. Alterations around 1895 by Simon and Tweedie. Restored in 1976 by Robert Hurd and Partners. Situated on prominent corner site opposite Palace of Holyrood and the Scottish Parliament.

Constructed in harled rubble. Raised cills. Internal turnpike stair to central bay with a boarded timber door at ground floor. Two-window wallhead gables, each with a single garret window at the apex, flanking a single window wallhead gable. Four-bay to rear (north) elevation, some narrow openings at first and second floors, gable to third bay.

Slated roof. Tall end chimneystacks with clay cans, that to west end is broad and shouldered and that to east end is a narrow pair. Crowstepped skews and skewputs. Cast iron rainwater goods.

Interior: turnpike stair at centre and front of building. Understood to have been comprehensively refurbished following restoration in 1976.

Statement of Special Interest

Russell House is a fine example of a restored 17th century tenement in the Edinburgh vernacular style. Edinburgh has a rich heritage of 17th century tenement houses which add significantly to the architectural character of the city. Situated in a particularly prominent and sensitive location opposite the entrance to Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament building, 3 and 5 Canongate adds visual interest and traditional character to this group. It is between two plain 20th century residential blocks and also serves as a valuable point ending the lengthy run of historic buildings along the lower end of the north side of the Canongate.

Internal alterations were undertaken by the practice of Simon and Tweedie in 1895. Prior to the restoration by Robert Hurd in 1976, the building was three-storeys with an attic garret and a shallower roof pitch. A metal plaque to the left of the turnpike stair doorway reads 'RUSSELL HOUSE - a 17th century tenement preserved by Sir Patrick Geddes (1854-1932). This building was rescued from demolition and restored again in 1976 by the perseverance and endeavours of a number of bodies and individuals, including Sir Robert Russell (1820-1972), after whom it is named'.

The historic and architectural value of Edinburgh's Canongate area as a whole cannot be overstated. Embodying a spirit of permanence while constantly evolving, its buildings reflect nearly 1000 years of political, religious and civic development in Scotland. The Canons of Holyrood Abbey were given leave by King David I to found the burgh of Canongate in 1140. Either side of the street (a volcanic ridge) was divided into long, narrow strips of land or 'tofts. By the end of the 15th century all the tofts were occupied, some subdivided into 'forelands' and 'backlands' under different ownership. Feudal superiority over Canongate ceased after 1560. The following century was a period of wide-scale rebuilding and it was during this time that most of the areas' mansions and fine townhouses were constructed, usually towards the back of the tofts, away from the squalor of the main street. The 17th century also saw the amalgamation of the narrow plots and their redevelopment as courtyards surrounded by tenements. The burgh was formally incorporated into the City in 1856.

Throughout the 19th century the Canongate's prosperity declined as large sections of the nobility and middle classes moved out of the area in favour of the grandeur and improved facilities of Edinburgh's New Town, a short distance to the north. The Improvement Act of 1867 made efforts to address this, responding early on with large-scale slum clearance and redevelopment of entire street frontages. A further Improvement Act (1893) was in part a reaction to this 'maximum intervention', responding with a programme of relatively small-scale changes within the existing street pattern. This latter approach was more consistent with Patrick Geddes' concept of 'conservative surgery'. Geddes was a renowned intellectual who lived in the Old Town and was a pioneer of the modern conservation movement in Scotland which gathered momentum throughout the 20th century. Extensive rebuilding and infilling of sections of the Canongate's many tenements took place, most notably by city architects, Ebenezer James McRae and Robert Hurd (mid-20th century) with some early frontages retained and others rebuilt in replica.

Statutory address changed from '3 Canongate, Russell House' to '3 and 5 Canongate (Russell House), Edinburgh' in 2019.

Previously known as 11-15 Canongate. Statutory address and list description updated at resurvey (2008).

References

Bibliography

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