Watercolour of to corner of the Jenners Building
 
The Jenners building in Edinburgh is the historic department store on Princes Street, long known as one of the city’s landmark buildings. The present structure was designed by William Hamilton Beattie in a Victorian Renaissance Revival style, opened in 1895, and is currently being restored and converted with retail retained and a hotel added above.
 
Its an interesting conversion as the building had “hundreds of secret rooms and turrets” accessible only to a select few.
 
Jenners began in 1838 and traded from the same site for much of its history, earning it a reputation as one of the world’s oldest department stores on a continuous site. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1892, and the replacement became the familiar ornate Princes Street building still associated with the name today. It is Category A listed in Scotland for its architectural quality.
 
 
 
The church was built between 1880 and 1884 to a Neo‑Baroque design by the young architect Herbert Gribble, a recent Catholic convert, and was later given its imposing façade and dome.  The interior is intentionally Italian‑Renaissance and Baroque in feel, with a very wide nave, seven side chapels, rich statuary, paintings, and a large dome that floods the crossing with light.
 
Oratorians, traditional emphasises scholarship, music, and devotional exercises carried out in an aesthetically rich setting.  It is especially famous for its choirs and sung Masses, drawing both local worshippers and visitors interested in Catholic liturgy and ecclesiastical music.
 
Interesting facts...
One of the best‑known whispers is that KGB couriers allegedly used the covered porch as a Cold‑War dead drop for passing secret documents, reportedly until the 1980s.  A specific marble pillar just inside the right‑hand side of the entrance is said to have been the spot where coded messages or films were slipped behind it, taking advantage of the discreet, busy traffic past the church.
 
Interesting fact...
The façade includes caryatids, which were intended to symbolise women as the support of the business. They were funded by a codicil in Charles Jenner’s will which is a lovely way to show appreciation.