C O N T E X T 1 3 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 13 Thursday tours and one has to remind oneself that you are minutes’ walk from Princess Street. From Dean Village, walking under Thomas Telford’s 1833 bridge over the Water of Leith, we moved to St Bernard’s Well in the lush seclusion of the Water of Leith.This was a building whose exterior I was familiar with, but the detail and beauty of the interior was a wonder. Judging by the number of tourists walking by with guide book in hand, this is obviously on the list of buildings to see. It is a shame that it can not be open to the public, but in view of the vandalism which has taken place in the past, the current security is necessary. Marsaili Aspinall Water of Leith walking tour I lived near Dean Village as a postgraduate student 30 years ago and I thought I knew this area well, but the tour surpassed expectations. Three quite exceptional buildings were visited: the excessive Victorian opulence of 25 Learmonth Terrace on the edge of the New Town; the artisan dwellings of Well Court in the heart of Dean Village; and the neoclassical temple, St Bernard’s Well, on theWater of Leith. After an intriguing route across the city from Pollock Halls to the New Town which only a taxi driver would know, Fiona MacDonald and Fiona Rankin from Edinburgh World Heritage led the tour. The common theme was the involvement of Edinburgh World Heritage using a revolving grant funding scheme to secure works to both public and private property. Designed by James Simpson in 1891, 25 Learmonth Terrace has probably one of the most sumptuous original interiors in Edinburgh. Recent work has focused on masonry repairs. The front elevation has almost 200 stone repairs alone.The building is now the home of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force 603 Squadron: the interior is an incongruous mix of original Victorian detail and Ministry of Defence utility. Well Court could not be more different in character. The 55 owners of modest properties cooperated to restore the exteriors of the flats and communal areas to their original appearance. Built by Sir John Findlay, owner of The Scotsman in the 1880s, these four- and five-storey flats around a central square replaced the former tenements. The result is quite European in feel Well Court from the Hawthornbank footbridge and (below) at St Bernard’sWell (Photos: Jane Roylance)
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