The monumental former General Post Office fronts a modern office interior while retaining one of Edinburgh’s most powerful city-centre façades.
Quick facts
- Date
- Built 1861–1865; extended 1891–1892 and 1907–1910; interior redeveloped in the early 2000s
- Architect / designer
- Robert Matheson, with additions by W. W. Robertson and W. T. Oldrieve
- Type
- Italian High Renaissance former General Post Office façade enclosing modern offices and amenities
- Designation
- Listed building, Category A (LB27631)
- OS grid reference
- NT 25914 73960
Architecture and continuing use
An eleven-by-fifteen-bay Italian Renaissance composition turns the corner between Waterloo Place and North Bridge. Advanced pavilions, classical carving and tall cast-iron lamps frame the surviving exterior; modern floors and an atrium sit behind it.
Its story
Built for the expanding General Post Office, the structure grew twice before postal use ended in 1995. Early twenty-first-century redevelopment retained the listed shell while creating contemporary offices around an atrium.
Why it is included
The building makes the benefits and losses of façade-led adaptation unusually visible at a crucial junction above Waverley Station.
What to notice
- Corner pavilions and stepped south elevation.
- Tall decorative cast-iron lamp standards.
- Contrast between historic external masonry and modern interior visible at entrances.
Reading the surroundings
This is a managed commercial building. View the exterior from public streets; interior access is for tenants, their visitors and users of advertised amenities subject to reception arrangements.
Timeline
- Built 1861–1865 Built for the expanding General Post Office, the structure grew twice before postal use ended in 1995. Early twenty-first-century redevelopment retained the listed shell while creating contemporary offices around an atrium.
- Present Commercial office building with modern tenant amenities.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
Tenant mix and public access to amenities change; the historic exterior survives, but most of the present interior is a twenty-first-century reconstruction.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Waverleygate, LB27631 — Designation status, mapped location, construction phases, fabric, authorship and architectural or historical interest.
- JLL and Cushman & Wakefield: Waverley Gate building particulars — Modern office conversion, retained listed façade, atrium and managed commercial use.
- Capital Collections: former General Post Office — Edinburgh Libraries historical identity and visual collection context.
Location
OS grid reference NT 25914 73960 · Location confidence: High: the statutory designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference and the current source confirms the Place relationship or present identity. · 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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