The Grey Horse combines a sturdy mid-nineteenth-century house with a lower angled range that follows the bend and intimate scale of Balerno’s Main Street.
Quick facts
- Date
- Around 1850
- Architect / designer
- Architect and builder not recorded in the designation
- Type
- Two-storey house and lower angled block adapted as a public house
- Designation
- Listed building, Category C (LB27124)
- OS grid reference
- NT 16335 66464
Architecture and continuing use
A near-symmetrical rubble main block rises two storeys beneath a slated roof and broad end stacks. Altered and blocked doorways reveal changing circulation, while dormers and etched ground-floor windows mark later public-house adaptation. The attached lower range turns with the street and uses a pantiled roof, deep doorways and varied joinery.
Its story
Built around 1850, the building appears on later nineteenth-century mapping and developed into a public house. Its traditional scale and angled street relationship underpinned listing. The Grey Horse continues to trade, making historic hospitality use part of the living village rather than simply a former name.
Why it is included
It links Balerno’s nineteenth-century road frontage with an active social use and preserves visible evidence of altered entrances and joined ranges.
What to notice
- The lower pantiled range turning with the street.
- Blocked and surviving door openings in the main block.
- Etched glazing and dormers associated with pub use.
Reading the surroundings
The inn is a working business. Visit only during advertised hours, respect staff and customers, and do not treat upper or service areas as public.
Timeline
- Around 1850 The principal rectangular block was constructed on Main Street.
- Later nineteenth century Mapping recorded the traditional building as Balerno expanded.
- 22 January 1971 The inn entered the statutory list.
- 2026 check The Grey Horse was confirmed as an operating public house.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The exact date of conversion to a public house is not given. Current opening, menus and access arrangements can change.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Grey Horse Inn, 20 and 22 Main Street, Balerno, LB27124 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- The Grey Horse Inn, Balerno — Current operator information confirming continuing public-house use.
- City of Edinburgh Council: Balerno Conservation Area Character Appraisal — Local-authority analysis of Balerno’s development, townscape, materials, industry and significant buildings.
Location
OS grid reference NT 16335 66464 · Location confidence: High for the current national designation point; public text separately states access, component-identity and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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