Recently, we featured a simple enough post on the shopfronts of Dublin. It was the first in an upcoming series, which is intended to highlight the good, the bad and the ugly with regards to the shopfronts of the capital. I made the decision to allow the shopfronts to speak for themselves, and the post received good traffic, and afterwards sparked a few real life conversations with others about the shopfronts of the capital.
An interesting comment on that post came from ‘FXR’ who noted that:
I passed Reads in Parliament street the other day. The boards on the front are starting to rot at the base.
I swung by for a look yesterday, and the shopfront on Parliament Street has fallen into a very tragic state. At the very bottom, where it reads ‘Established in 1670’ on one side and ‘Dublin’s Oldest Shop’ on the other, damage and decay is clear to be seen. Unsurprisingly, the shopfront has been vandalised too.
Above the shop, the sign still hangs proudly, giving some indication of the history of the premises.
The late and great Éamon Mac Thomáis noted in his work Me Jewel and Darlin’ Dublin that “Thomas Read of 4 Parliament Street was established in 1670, and are one of the oldest cutlers in the world”, and Read’s was the oldest shop in Dublin prior to its closure some years ago. It’s a real shame to see such an historically important building fall into this condition. Of course, restoration takes money, but wouldn’t it be fantastic to see this one restored to a former glory?
Éamon Mac Thomáis inside the shop:
The interior of the shop is stunning, although in need of a lot of restoration. The shop has beautiful cabinets and fixtures while the upper floors still retain many fine features including plasterwork. The building is quite large…surprisingly so.
The building was purchased last year by a buyer who is interested in restoring the building and bringing it back into use. I understand that the plans are on the backburner at the moment.
The condition of the shopfront however is scandalous and surely some works could be done to at least paint and maintain what remains. Sadly though, I think the front is beyond saving…its very damaged.
I agree it is a disgrace, passed it today. I remember bring my sons in there in possibly the late 1980s to see the world’s largest swiss army knife. It was about 6 inches long with what looked like hundreds of gadgets folded in and out of it. The inside of the shop was pristine, so sad at the state of it today. Did the family own ran the bar at the corner live “over the shop” for a while?
Interesting about someone buying it. I was under the impression that the pub bought the premises and that Read’s cutlers was a time capsule that had been boarded up for a future generation. I thought there was some tax deal or something done. The shop was not on that spot since 1670, I think it fronted the Liffey originally and moved to Parliament street more recently, as in the 19th C.
When Obama and that Aul Wan were over last year I got into a rather heated exchange with three young Templemore recruits who were trying to jimmy the door open with a crow bar to check for bombs. Eventually they got a key from the pub next door.
Doh! just watched the video and Mr Read explains that they were not always there.
The cabinets in the shop are reputed to have been made by Chippendale. I can’t imagine any other city where a shop like Reads would be left rotting on a busy thoroughfare like Parliament street.
I remember those characterful cabinets inside, slightly irregular because handmade & aged. I’d hoped this kind of neglect had been left behind with Tiger excess.
The pub next door took the name Thomas Reads when it was bought and opened by developer Hugh O’Regan. He bought Reads Culters at the same time to make use of the name and to turn the shop into a tourist attraction. It functioned like that for a while in the 1990s before it closed. The upstairs was in residential use for much of the 1990s also. Mt O’Regan went into NAMA a couple of years back and they recently sold on No. 4 (and one assumes the pub – though seperately) to other owners. The upstairs flats above the pub could be stunning…fantastic walls of arched windows and views over City Hall and Castle. Its astonishing that more people dont want to live here.
“The court appointed Kieran Wallace, of KPMG, liquidator to Dashaven, the company behind the Kilternan hotel; Clubko, owner of No 8 St Stephen’s Green; and Thomas Read Holdings, owner of No 4 Parliament Street, once home to Dublin’s oldest shop, Thomas Read’s Cutlers.”
http://www.mlaw.ie/newspaper-archive/6599
The degradation of city street-scapes is well documented in Archiseek’s “shopfront race to the bottom” thread: (http://www.archiseek.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=4795&sid=b43f790d7e165a4c2cbc8386bd3fb049)
The main problem is DCC’s reluctance to enforce their own planning regulations for whatever reason. The situation has gotten even worse in the downturn: erection of illegal signage and ignorance of conservation area standards. Very sad that this historic and keynote building has been allowed to rot in this manner. (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0909/1224303758218.html)
Apparently the the building as part of the Thomas Read Group has been namafied. (http://www.irishpropertysupermarket.com/nama-properties)
I’m wondering what a shame it is that such an historic and skillful art of cutling seems to have been lost. I collect antique swords and would dearly love to learn howto repair and maintain my collection. I would be very interested if anyone knows the whereabouts of the Read family. My hopes are that maybe some skills live on and I can be educated. I know its a shot in the dark but……………………..
[…] 8. Operating on this site since 1767, Thomas Read’s Cutlery shop was reputedly the oldest businesses in Dublin until it closed in the 1980s. While its unsurprising that a shop that sold swords among other things, found it hard in to survive in the late 20th century, sadly the the iconic shop front has been allowed to fall into disrepair. Comeheretome have written this piece on its decline. […]