Inside the painstaking restoration of Edinburgh's iconic Jenners Building
Scottish firms have hailed the Jenners Building restoration project as a ‘career highlight’, with the public soon to see the newly refurbished exterior
It is one of Edinburgh’s most iconic and best-loved buildings, but has been shrouded in scaffolding for years.
The Grand Old Lady of Princes Street, however, is soon to shine again as the scaffolding comes down to reveal the painstaking stunning transformation of the Jenners Building.
The building has stood tall on the corner of Princes Street and South St David Street for the past 130 years, greeting visitors and locals alike, with an ambitious restoration process to return the structure back to its best currently under way.
Owned by AAA United, the real estate company of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, David Chipperfield Architects conceived a plan to transform the former department store into a mixed-use development featuring retail, hospitality and cultural spaces, including a 96-room hotel. The whole project is not set to be completed before 2029.
Now, as the scaffolding prepares to come down and the newly-renovated facade re-emerges over the next few months, the craftspeople who have been hard at work have spoken out about their role in the intricate process.
Graciela Ainsworth and her team, from Ratho-based firm Graciela Ainsworth Sculpture Conservation, have been hard at work carefully conserving the 22 female caryatids and 12 female statues which adorn the exterior of the building. It comes more than 30 years after the firm first worked on the Jenners Building.
Ms Ainsworth described the work as a “career highlight”, saying: “It was a genuine privilege to return to the female caryatids and statues at The Jenners Building in 2025, a full 30 years after our initial conservation of them in 1995.
“Today, we are reapplying breathable, sacrificial shelter coats to give these vulnerable statues another layer of defence. This project has been a career highlight, blending our original care with today’s best practices, and I’m immensely proud to have helped conserve these sculptures for a new generation.”
Originally built by Scottish architect William Hamilton Beattie, the Jenners Building was completed between 1895 and 1905 and still stand as one of the Capital’s shining examples of Renaissance Revival architecture. A fatal fire broke out in the then-empty Category A-listed building in January 2023. Firefighter Barry Martin, 38, died at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh following the blaze, which also left two rooms damaged.
Matheson Plumbing Company Limited, a Falkirk-based company which specialises in roof work using traditional materials, has been undertaking lead work to transform the gutters, dormers and ridges on the Jenners Building.
Director Fraser Matheson said: “As a company that has worked on many of Edinburgh’s historic properties, we are honoured to be involved with a building as iconic as this one. I have fond memories of visiting the building as a child, so now playing a part in its evolution is a joy.”
The plan for the building spans 20,000 square-metres across four interconnected buildings, towering at 12-storeys high.
Another iconic part of the building which has been undergoing restoration are the stained glass windows, just some of the 600 individual windows in 35 different styles seen throughout the building.
Rainbow Glass Studio, Scotland’s largest stained-glass specialists, has been on hand to provide advice, as well as conservation needs and restoration of the decorative glass within the Victorian Renaissance Revival-style building.
The studio’s work has included undertaking restoration of copper lights, heraldic leaded glass windows and embossed internal screens featuring intricate glass work, some of which had been lost over the 130-year history of the building.
Moira Malcolm, from the Prestwick-based firm, has described the job as a "privilege for our team”, saying: “We have been restoring the heraldic glass windows and enjoying the unique opportunity to study historic photographs of the interiors.”
She added: “The 1895 images revealed more individual decorative lights that had been lost to time. Recreating these features from the photos and surviving examples has been immensely satisfying.”
Meanwhile, Stirling Stone has been working hard to inspect every stone and replace and restore as needed.
The company’s director, John Dunn, said: “We have used Blaxter Sandstone, which is quarried in Northumberland and supplied by Dunhouse Quarry.
“This fine-grained, honey-coloured stone has been quarried since the 1890s and used for many prestigious buildings in Scotland. I’m looking forward to the wraps coming off and people being able to see the building’s exterior reinstated to its former glory.”
Restoration rather than replacement has been key to the project, with the building’s history woven throughout the refreshed structure.
The iconic gold-embossed ‘JENNERS’ lettering remains as a focal point on the southern and eastern facades, cementing the former department store’s legacy in Edinburgh for the next generation.
The scaffolding on the outside of the building will be removed in stages throughout the winter, unveiling the hard work to the public for the first time since work began in July 2024.
Andrew Keith, managing director of The Jenners Building, said: “Those of us working on the restoration have had the privilege of seeing the Victorian craftsmanship up close, and it is extraordinary.
“Over the coming months the façade will gradually re-emerge. Edinburgh is getting The Jenners Building back, and people will be able to see the care that has gone into conserving it.
“It is a much-loved building that has always belonged to Edinburgh. There is still a great deal to do inside, but we are making good progress towards it once again playing a central role in the life of the city.”
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