Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

4, 5 AND 6 NICOLSON SQUARELB29412

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Date Added
29/04/1977
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 26037 73209
Coordinates
326037, 673209

Description

Later 18th century. 3-storey and attic, 3-bay tenement with projecting, flat-roofed single storey altered shops to ground and distinctive decorative full width iron balconies to 2nd and attic storeys. Droved ashlar with painted margins, rubble to rear. Cill course, deep, dentilled cornice. Steps to right lead to timber panelled entrance door with fanlight above with fan glazing pattern. Central pedimented dormer with flanking curved slated dormers.

Mixture of glazing patterns. Some 6-pane over plate glass timber sash and case windows to 1st storey, 8-pane timber French windows to 2nd storey. Grey slates. Coped gable and wallhead stacks.

Statement of Special Interest

This tenement is an integral part of an early Classical planned square which has retained its decorative 2nd storey iron balcony. These balconies are an increasingly rare feature of Edinburgh tenements and this one is an unusual survivor. The building is also notable for the two curved dormers, which add significantly to the streetscape value of the building. The planned square with tenements surrounding a communal garden was a particular feature of developing Edinburgh in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and remain an important characteristic of the townscape.

Projecting single storey shop fronts evolved during the 19th century and arose from a desire for shops to have more space, light and a better area for displaying goods. They utilise the space between the building and the pavement, often where a garden or access to a basement has been. They are found throughout Scotland, although are particularly prevalent in Edinburgh. The Ordnance Survey Map of 1893-4 depicts this tenement with platts and steps over a basement and these shop fronts are likely to be 20th century in date.

The development of Nicolson Square dates from 1765 when the city was beginning to expand to the South and the land here was feued from the Estate of Lady Nicolson. This tenement forms part of a row of tenements which still survive on the N side of the Square.

List description revised as part of Edinburgh Holyrood Ward resurvey 2007-08.

References

Bibliography

John Ainslie, City of Edinburgh Map, 1780. John Gifford, Colin McWilliam and David Walker, Buildings of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1984 p248. Charles McKean, Edinburgh, an illustrated architectural guide, 1992 p74. www.scran.ac.uk (accessed 31-05-07)

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 20/04/2024 10:59