World famous Princes Street is practically at your doorstep with its magnificent views of the Edinburgh Castle dominating the city skyline. Here, internationally renowned shops offer the very best in shopping, including fine Scottish wares and gifts to suit all tastes. After a shopping spree, what better way to unwind than in the beautiful and colourful surroundings of Princes Street Gardens at the foot of Edinburgh Castle.
The Guest House is easy to reach with public transport and it is the ideal accommodation for a business or leisure stay. Located only 200 metres from the King’s Theatre, the property is at 65 Gilmore Place. By clicking through to our photo gallery to view the Victorian-tiled hallway, large drawing room with its ornate cornice, all the individually designed bedrooms with luxury en-suite facilities, you will begin to appreciate the loving restoration work that has gone into creating The Town House Guest House.
Constructed in 1876 as The Manse (Minister's house) for the adjoining Church the house consists of 3 floors. The bedrooms are situated on the first and second floors and secure private car parking for all guests is located to the rear of the house.
The quality of furnishings and other comforts are indicated by our Visit Scotland grading of 4 stars (****). This grading system also applies to our very select breakfast menu which offers, apart from a full Scottish breakfast, traditional porridge, local kippers (smoked herring) and Scottish fish cakes.
When you visit Edinburgh, you will find a city steeped in history. In our home you will be living with it.
Once occupied by an inventor called David Theo Williamson, a renowned mechanical engineer who resided at 65 Gilmore Place for a period of 30 years as a child and then having inherited the property, as father of his own family. You may be unaware of the major impact that Theo has had on all our lives. The inventor of the first amplifier with no valves and the lightweight "pick-up" for record players, he brought music to our ears. In an industrial engineering capacity he worked for many years for Ferranti, gaining prominence through his development of the computerised lathe. In later years he achieved recognition for his development of computerised manufacturing techniques.
Theo's father was responsible for making the house one of the first in Edinburgh to have electricity. A bit of the house's history you no longer have to live with, it has like other services been replaced.
We are open for business all year except Christmas. We can accommodate up to 9 guests, so we hope that having visited us through the Internet, you are able to pay us a personal visit where every effort will be made to make your stay in Edinburgh a memorable one.