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Summary

Description

William Chambers, 1770-2; refaced and Telling room added by David Bryce, 1846; Free Tolbooth Church built to rear by David Bryce, 1858; internal alterations by Dick Peddie and Walker Todd, 1929, LA Jamieson, 1932. 3-storey basement and attic, 5-bay Italian Renaissance terraced office. Polished cream sandstone ashlar. Regular fenestration, moulded architraves. At ground, open pedimented Ionic porch to inner right bay; flanked by further doors; windows to 2 left bays with bracketed cills and panelled aprons. At 1st floor, consoled ashlar balcony and balustrade; windows with consoled pediments. Cill course at 2nd floor. Modillioned cornice and balustraded parapet, largely concealing pair of early bowed dormers.

Extends back to North St Andrews Lane with stepped pyramidal composition; squared snecked and stugged sandstone. Large flat-arched entrance at ground now filled-in as window.

Timber sash and case multi-pane windows. Ashlar coped mutual skews; rendered mutual stacks; grey slates.

INTERIOR: 2 distinct blocks, front and rear. Left door gives access directly into front room with dentilled cornice; centre door gives access to main stair and banking hall at rear; right door gives separate access to Actuaries? premises at rear (above banking hall); stair with cast-iron lattice work banister. Former Banking Hall delineated by 2 rows of columns and piers with stylised Greek capitals, trabeated ceiling, 5-light window to rear. Stair with plain square cast-iron banisters, barrel-vaulted cupola with modillioned cornice. At 1st floor, 2- and 3-bay rooms, latter with Greek white marble chimneypiece, ceiling rose and plain double doors to large rear room with tripartite window, panelled dado, matching chimneypiece and ceiling rose, and glazed entrance screen; entrance lobby to rear premises. At 2nd floor, sundry plain chimneypieces, marble, slate and timber; timber stair to attic flat. Panelled lobby to Actuaries? Hall at rear; Hall lined with bookcases, dais at far end, lit from side windows; war memorial with linenfold panelling; simple trabeated ceiling. Meeting room beyond with chimneybreast flanked by Corinthian pilasters, chimneypiece stolen.

RAILINGS: fine cast-iron star motif railings.

Statement of Special Interest

Built with Nos 23-26 by ?the joint purses of Sir John Whitefoord, Sir Robert Murray and Gilbert Meason?. Chambers designed Meason?s house at No 26, so presumably the others as well. Transformed by Bryce for the Exchange Bank of Scotland; originally with 2 doors, the 3rd being added to provide access to the Free Tolbooth Church. A Group with Nos 21-26 St Andrew Square as part of Edinburgh?s New Town, one of the most important and best preserved examples of urban planning in Britain.

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