Baltic Street facade of the Former Corn Exchange, Constitution Street, Leith, Edinburgh

29-31A (ODD NOS) AND 35 CONSTITUTION STREET AND 9 BALTIC STREET, FORMER CORN EXCHANGE
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Map sheet:

Category: A


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Date of Listing 14-DEC-1970


Description:
Peddie & Kinnear, dated 1861, frieze carving John Rhind. 2-storey corner office block with engaged octagonal entrance tower and Renaissance details, large rectangular-plan hall to N. Cream sandstone, polished ashlar with squared and snecked stugged rubble to rear and side. Base course; carved frieze of vine leaves and corbelled string course above ground floor; frieze of scrolled vine leaves to deep modillioned eaves cornice; windows in recessed panels; ground floor openings with moulded stilted segmental arches and impost course, ornamental iron grilles to aprons; 1st floor windows with moulded round-arched heads and impost course.
ENTRANCE TOWER: engaged octagonal 3-stage entrance tower; 1st and 2nd stage detailed as above with doorway to centre, 2-leaf panelled door and plate glass fanlight, consoled cornice blank arches to outer bays. Top stage with round-arched bipartite windows with foliate capitals set in recessed rectangular panels to 4 sides; paterae frieze and bracketted eaves cornice; classical octagonal domed metal roof with wallhead stack to rear and octagonal domed bellcote with round-arched openings and ornate weathervane.
NW (CONSTITUTION STREET) ELEVATION: 4-bay office block to right with arcaded openings, secondary doorway to outer right. 5-bay hall to left with carved frieze (John Rhind) of putti in grain-related activities and eaves cornice; moulded, round-arched and keystoned openings. Centre bay with tall doorway with elongated fanlight; 2 bays to right with tall windows with bracketted cills; 2 bays to left with large rectangular architraved and corniced doorways with boarded doors and small semi-circular fanlights above cornice, cast-iron pal stones.
S (BALTIC STREET) ELEVATION: 7-bay (excluding corner tower) with arcaded openings; secondary doorways with 2-pane fanlights to outer right and centre bays. Single storey screen wall to outer right with 2 segmental arches, to right blocked with blank segmental-arched panel.
W ELEVATION: blank with blocked windows to left and broad rendered wallhead stack to office block.
4-pane timber sash and case arched windows. Slate roof with metal flashings to office block; felt roof to hall. 2 wallhead stacks (see above), apex stack to gable end of hall, large transverse stack.
INTERIOR: vestibule and stair hall with red and white marble floor and dado; newel posts with timber lighthouses as lamps; 2 windows flanking doorway with non-figurative stained glass (circa 1900); ground floor toilets with original tiling; large skylight to round offices at 1st floor. Exchange hall to rear blind round arches to side bays and semi-circular gable elevations; roof supported by arched timber braces with pierced and carved spandrels painted gold, red and blue.

References:
THE SCOTSMAN, Oct 17 1860. BUILDING NEWS, Sept 28 1860. THE BUILDER, Nov 8 1862. Gifford et al, EDINBURGH (1984), pp469-70.

Notes:
Group with 37-43 Constitution Street, 2-18, 1-31 Bernard Street and Robert Burns Statue.