The Georgian House is a lovely National Trust of Scotland property a short walk from Princes Street in the centre of Edinburgh at Charlotte Square. It has been restored to how it would have been in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Adult tickets are £12.50 or free if you’re a member of National Trust England/Scotland.
You can wander around the house as you see fit but the best way as I was directed was to go up the stairs to the top floor and work your way down. There are information booklets in each room but also very friendly and informative volunteers who gave a good insight into the house and the people that used to live there.
The house is located in what was one of the most prestigious streets in Edinburgh, designed by Robert Adam. In 1796 the Lamont family purchased the house for £1,800. One of the most impressive rooms was the Drawing Room used for formal entertaining before and after dinner.
It’s here you also find this lovely square piano. It was made by a local cabinet maker in 1802 and still has its original strings. Square pianos were very fashionable in Scotland, more so than in England where the grand piano became the favoured instrument.
This was the bedroom for Mrs Lamont but would also have been used as a sitting room and to receive female visitors. The bed isn’t original to the house but was gifted from a country house in West Lothian – the hangings are original late 18th century but the original bedspread is in storage, the replacement also dates from the same period. If you look closer above the pillow – that rounded shape isn’t in fact purely decorative, it’s a pouch to hold a pocket watch, a rare survivor of the period.
And of course no visit to a National Trust property is complete without seeing a well laid out dining room table and kitchens.
It’s a lovely house to wander around and well worth a visit. Before or after your visit it’s also worthwhile to wander around the area which, traffic aside, still has the feel of the Georgian era about it.
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