The History of 3 Rothesay Terrace

A Family Home, 1876

Mr John Ritchie Findlay, owner and editor of The Scotsman, and his wife, Susan (née Leslie), built Number 3 Rothesay Terrace in 1876 as a family home, where they lived with their ten children.

A Late Victorian Vision

In 1883, Findlay asked Sydney Mitchell to renovate the interior to suit his tastes and social position. Most of the features you see today date from this Late Victorian period. Mitchell created a lofty entrance hall with an intricately carved colonnade separating the stairs from the rest of the space, and designed public rooms suitable for the family to live, work, and entertain in.

Rooms Rich in Character

The Breakfast Room, with its intricate hand-carved woodwork, is on the ground floor and features a terrace overlooking Dean Village. Up one flight is the Library, designed to emulate that of Abbotsford House, home of Sir Walter Scott, whom Mr Findlay admired.

The morning room next to it, now the Rothesay Room, provided a light and airy entertaining space for social visits. At the back of the property, the grand drawing room, now known as the Findlay Room, runs the width of the building and offers an impressive view over the Dean Village and the Firth of Forth.

The Rothesay Room ceiling is painted with a fresco featuring the signs of the zodiac, while the stained glass in the windows features the initials of Sir John and Susan.

The Next Generation

Upon Findlay’s death, his eldest son, Sir John Ritchie Findlay, 1st Baronet, inherited the property. Sir John lived here with his wife, Harriet Jane, and their five children until his death in 1930.

A College Residence

Lady Harriet then donated it to the Edinburgh College of Domestic Science, which became Queen Margaret College in 1972 and later a University. The building provided residential accommodation for young ladies attending the school.

During this period, the building experienced several significant changes. The upper rooms on floors 2 through 4 were divided and subdivided to form bedrooms for the girls, with a kitchen and other working spaces on the lower levels. In the reception atrium, the area to the left as you enter the building was separated off by wooden partitions, forming a bedroom for the matron, conveniently placed next to the front door so that she could ‘keep an eye’ on her charges.

Melvin House

During the 1960s, the College had a formidable bursar called Alice Melvin, who was later remembered in the name ‘Melvin House’, which was given to the building. In 1970, the College moved to a new campus at Clermiston, and Number 3 Rothesay Terrace passed to the National Health Service, which used the property as a management training centre.

Restored as a Hotel

In 1996, hotelier John Milton bought the property from the NHS and carried out extensive renovations, restoring the building to near its original condition. The building has been a hotel ever since.

A New Chapter: The Bonham Townhouse

In early 2026, the owners of the Bonham Hotel, a few doors down at Drumsheugh Gardens, were delighted to acquire the property. A sympathetic renovation is planned for late 2026 and early 2027 to create luxury boutique townhouse accommodation. It will respect the building’s historically and architecturally significant Late Victorian features, while recognising the Findlay family’s significant contribution, whose vision and influence can still be experienced throughout the building and across the City of Edinburgh.