Keeping up appearances

From the second half of the 18th century, an ambitious plan for a stylish New Town created lavish, desirable homes for wealthy Edinburghers. CONNIE ROUT visits one townhouse restored to its Georgian pomp

- CONNIE ROUT

Part of the charm of the Georgian House in Charlotte Square is that you could very easily walk straight past without noticing it. There's a National Trust for Scotland sign outside the door, but the building itself could, like the other addresses sharing its row, be just another well-to-do property in the city. (Its neighbour at number 6 is Bute House, the official home of Scotland's first minister.) This house-like most others in the area - is very far from nondescript, however.

Designed by acclaimed Scottish architect Robert Adam in 1791, the row was created to look like one sprawling palace, complete with Corinthian columns and a triangular pediment in the neoclassical style. Number 7 - now known as the Georgian House - was built five years later during the construction of Edinburgh's New Town.