Designating former Lads' Institute, Ratcliffe Terrace, Edinburgh

Overview

We are proposing to list the 27-29 Ratcliffe Terrace (former Lads' Institute), Edinburgh which was designed and built between 1906-07 by James Linton Lawrence and Victor ‘Spig’ Spiganovicz. The building’s notable Arts and Crafts design is representative of the style and is little altered. The interior also retains some good design features from the early 20th century. As a purpose-built Lads’ Institute, it is a rare example of its building type. Only a very small number are known to have been built, most dating to the early 20th century.

Former Lads' Institute, principal elevation, looking east © HES

Victor Spiganovicz was born in Odessa in 1881, the son of Baron Spiganovicz, a Polish-Lithuania nobleman. In 1892, he moved to Edinburgh and attended the Royal High School before training as an architect. He worked for the Edinburgh School Board architects department. Records show a small list of his works, perhaps because he focussed more on philanthropic actions for youth after being exposed to poverty when working for the school board. He was also integral in setting up the first Boy Scout movement in Scotland forming one of the first scout groups in the 4th (Midlothian) Troop.

Lads’ Institutes were set up as recreational and sports clubs in the early 20th century to cater specifically to younger boys who were not settling into the school system and differed from other reforming types of clubs that had previously been for working men. Only a few purpose-built premises for such organisations were ever built throughout Britain.

Former Lads' Institute, internal glazed decorative doorway © HES

We are now gathering views on our proposal to list this building at category C. 

Read more about why we think the former Lads' Institute meets the criteria for listing by downloading our Report of Handling.

How we designate listed buildings

We list buildings of special architectural or historic interest. A dedicated team researches and assesses all designation applications.

You can find out more about listed buildings in the Advice and Support section of the Historic Environment Scotland website, and read our Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019).

To merit listing, the structure must meet set listing criteria.

Find out about the listing process.

Why your views matter

We’d love to know whether you agree with our proposal.

To help you respond to the following survey, please read why we think the former Lads' Institute meets the criteria for listing by downloading the Report of Handling.

You can tell us if you agree with our proposal by completing the short questionnaire below.

This questionnaire usually takes 5-10 minutes to complete.

Find out what comments we consider and what happens next in our consultation guide or watch our designations video on YouTube.

You can also watch a version of this video in British Sign Language.