Tor House through time
In response to an archaeological planning condition, a new residential development by AMA (Tor) Ltd to the west of the Edinburgh has allowed buildings archaeologists at AOC Archaeology to record and explore Tor House, a mid-19th century Grade B Listed building and a fine example of a Neo-Jacobean former villa. The development lies in the Corstorphine area of the city, at No 30 Corstorphine Road, and is the next stage in the history of the site which began as a country retreat, then became an RAF command centre, an RAF and Salvation Army convalescent home, before most recently being used as a nursing home (Figs 1 + 2).
The origins
The listing description notes that the villa was ‘possibly’ built in 1866 to designs by John Chesser (1819-92) in a Neo-Jacobean style, an architect heavily influenced by William Burn for his U-plan mansion designs. However, a look at the historical mapping notes that a house was built on the exact same position by the time of the first edition Ordnance Survey map dated to 1853, which clearly shows the
