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Summary

Description

A three-storey, three-bay tenement with attic, which dates from around the later 17^th to mid 18^th century, but some elements may be earlier. The main block is set-back slightly from High Street and has a stair tower to the rear (west), a pend to the left and an early 21^st century shopfront at ground floor. A long, two-storey block, dating from the 17^th century, abuts to the rear with a lower single-bay, two-storey block to the west end. This is adjoined by a single-storey brick addition from the early to mid 20^th century.

The front elevation is bull-nosed rendered but the remaining walls are largely red sandstone rubble with squared rybats to the openings. The roofs are steeply pitched with pantiles and slate eaves, with corrugated sheeting to the rear pitch of the main block. The windows are predominantly six-pane timber sliding sashes, (many of which are boarded) and largely date from around the early 18^th to 19^th centuries.

The interior was seen in 2024. It comprises a modernised shop interior, which has been stripped back and knocked through to the rear block, forming a single space into which modern partitions have been added. Recent photographs show that the upper floors retain their historic layout and a significant amount of early fixtures and fittings. The second floor has a principal room to the front, with two smaller rooms to the rear and a corridor connecting to the stair at the rear. Notable features include early joinery such as panelling, shutters and doors, a kitchen range, historic roof timbers, some of which retain shipping marks (including from the Baltic), layers of wall finishes and wallpaper from the 18^th to early 20^th centuries, and the tenement stair (which has been removed at ground floor level).

Historical background

The exact period of construction is not clear, but the arrangement and proportions of the main elevation suggest it dates from the late 17^th to mid-18^th century. It has been noted that the lower floors in the eastern part of the front block, facing the High Street, may be earlier in date. Therefore, in its present form the building appears to be an enlargement and extension of an earlier range that fronted High Street, and it may incorporate early post-medieval or medieval fabric from this earlier range (Simpson and Brown Feasibility Study, 2022-23, Appendix 1: Addyman Archaeology Preliminary Assessment).

The building appears on John Wood's Plan of Dunbar (1830) and is shown as being in the ownership of 'Miss Kellie'. The footprint, which has not changed significantly since this date, is shown in more detail on the 2^nd Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1894 (revised 1893). The single-storey brick block to the west was built in the first half of the 20^th century, to replace an earlier building on the site, and is shown on the National Grid Map (revised 1963, published 1964). The shop fit-out in the 20^th century saw the ground and first floor levels stripped back to the external walls, the removal of the lower part of the tenement stair and the addition of internal support structures. The upper floors were walled off and abandoned since the earlier 20^th century (Simpson and Brown Feasibility Study, 2022-23, Appendix 1: Addyman Archaeology Preliminary Assessment). A broad chimney is shown on an image from 1961 (Canmore) but this has since been truncated.

Statement of Special Interest

We have found that the building meets the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

• It is an example of a typical post-mediaeval tenement building that survives with much of its traditional character and form intact. The building retains many historic features indicative of its early date.
• There have been significant changes to the internal layout and fabric of the building, particularly the ground floor, but the upper floors have remained substantially unaltered since at least the earlier 20^th century and retain a wealth of vernacular construction detail.
• The extent of surviving historic fabric is exceptional, with early decorative schemes, fixtures and fittings retained on the upper floors.
• The deterioration in the condition of the main block has not adversely affected the historic character and legibility of the building. The condition of the surviving fabric is not a factor when deciding whether a building is of special architectural or historic interest.
• The building retains its historic setting and forms part of a row of buildings of similar date and type which are also listed and contribute to the character of the conservation area.
• It is an early example for its building type. The extent of surviving fabric, particularly to the interior is rare for domestic buildings that have remained in continued use.
• It has special social historical interest for what it can tells us about how tenement buildings in Scottish burghs would have functioned.

Architectural interest

86 and 88 High Street is a notable example of a post-mediaeval burgh building that has undergone some alterations but survives largely in its original form. The building retains many of its traditional features to the exterior, such as its window openings, roofline and long, narrow plan form. The interior retains an extensive array of historic fixtures, fittings and decorative schemes, largely dating from the 18^th to early 20^th centuries. The hierarchy in both the layout and finish of the upper rooms remains clearly evident and shows the relative status of the interior spaces, from the formal use of timber wall panelling to the ad-hoc use of packing cases for wall linings.

The building contributes to the historic character of High Street and that of the wider conservation area, which is dominated by rows of similar tenements that largely date from the mid 18^th to early 19^th centuries. The site retains its historic setting, including its intervisibility with the early-17th century Town House/Tolbooth (listed at category A, LB24790). The diminutive scale of the building, combined with the steep pitch of the roof and the pattern of openings, are key features that indicate its early date within the context of the streetscape.

Historic interest

Tenements dating from before the 19^th century are not rare and can be found in burghs across Scotland. When considering such a prolific building type an early date, level of alteration, and architectural design are important factors when considering the special interest of a building. The building at 86 and 88 High Street is an early example of a post-medieval tenement that may retain earlier fabric.  The ground floor and shop front have been altered but the overall extent of survival, particularly to the interiors of the upper floors, is exceptional for a building of this date.

Category of listing changed from C to B and listed building record revised in 2025

References

Bibliography

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