James Court is located in Edinburgh’s Old Town. It is worth a visit if you are ever in the area to see the beautiful architecture and stonework by some of the finest stonemasons in the Edinburgh area.
The early years of James Court
James Court was built between 1723-27 by an Edinburgh property developer called James Brownhill. The design was based on the nearby Milne’s Court and so a courtyard building of the finest exclusive apartments were built.
It wasn’t long thanks to the quality of the exterior stonework and the well designed interiors that James Court became one ofthe most desirable Edinburgh addresses. The flats that were in James Court were bigger, more spacious and much more airy than traditional Edinburgh tenements and this was reflected in the prices.
Famous residents of James Court
David Hume
In 1762, the famous philosopher David Hume came to live in an apartment in James Court. As well as a philosopher, Hume was a historian and economist and he is best known today for his influential system of empiricism, naturalism and skepticism.
Hume was known to have loved his Old Town apartment in James Court and whilst on a trip to Paris he wrote to his friend Adam Ferguson: “…I wish twice or thrice a day, for my easy chair and my retreat in James Court”. However, as time went on like many of his contemporaries he desired to move to the New Town which was beginning to form, offering more spacious dwellings and he moved from James Court in 1770.
James Boswell
The very next tenant in David Hume’s old partment was another famous figure, James Boswell. Famous as a biographer and diarist, he is best known for the biography he wrote of the English literary figure Samuel Johnson.
From here he moved he and his family to a much larger James Court flat and it was here that he entertained Dr Johnson before their epic journey to the Western Isles.
James Court today
James Court like much of the rest of Old Town declined during the Victorian era although there were some attempts by people like Patrick Geddes who tried to regenerate the area. By enabling more and more people to take control of their own surroundings and bringing the university and local community closer together he managed to ensure that much of Old Town remains to this day.
Sadly a fire in 1857 destroyed many of James Court buildings but may be rebuilt in the 1890s. James Court still stands proudly in the city today and some of the apartments are available to rent for visitors who want to experience these beautiful buildings at first hand.
Why Choose Us:
- We have over 30 years hands-on experience as stonemasons
- We have a full range of expert stonemasonry and sandstone restoration skills
- We only use lime mortar for re-pointing, sandstone repairs and building work
- We choose our team based on the quality of their work and quality of their character
- Flexible Quoting: we come at a time that suits you, even on the same day if required
Stone Repairs
Do your stones’ need repairing due to weathering and old age? If so, we can bring them back to new again. As James Allan Stonemasons (Edinburgh), we can offer you two effective methods for repairing your stones, which are part Indenting and lithomex.
Lime Pointing
Properly executed Lime Repointing of masonry using lime mortars is critical to the long term health of stone structures. It is strongly advised that repointing is carried out using proper lime mortars & correct technique and preparation.
Church Stone Repairs
Repairs to churches call on every type of stonemasonry skill imaginable, including stone replacement, stone restoration, stone carving and lime pointing. We are able to carry out the stonemasonry restoration of our city’s churches.