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.
 
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.