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Parliament Street, designed and laid out to the design of the Wide Streets Commissioners architect: George Semple, in 1762, is the first example of formal axial planning in mid-eighteenth-century Dublin.
No. 4, a terraced two-bay five-storey house over shop is the most intact surviving building on the street. Not only does the basic built fabric and decorative detail survive but the ground floor shop and its fittings fixtures and contents including its unique early counter tops and display cabinets, dating from 1762, survive almost completely intact.
Read’s Cutlers, originally established on Blind Quay in 1670, survived at this location from 1762 until closure in 1988. It is reported to retain a very fine 1760s interior which includes early counter tops and display cabinets.
It is a protected structure, entered on the RPS Ref: 6322 and has been surveyed under the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage completed in 2016, Reg No: 50020031, rated as being of ‘Regional Significance’ and cited as being of ‘Architectural, Artistic and Social interest’.
Kelly and Cogan Architects were appointed to act as conservation architects and design team leaders for the conservation, restoration and refurbishment of No. 4 Parliament Street and 3 Crane Lane in 2012.
Prior to our client’s purchase of the Building in 2012, the building had fallen into severe dilapidation and had experienced serious structural destabilisation largely as a consequence of neglect but also arising from interventions dating to the1780s which had removed critical elements of structural support internally in order to aggrandise the retail unit at ground level and to provide a Guild or Meeting Room at first floor.
Our initial strategy was twofold:
To address essential weatherproofing and stabilisation of the structure.
To research and investigate both the history and construction of the building to enable a thorough conservation process to be initiated.
Dublin City Council’s Conservation Officer Ms Nicola Matthews and Planning Officers Mr Paraic Fallon and Ms Patricia Hyde were of considerable help in facilitating a flexible approach which enabled much of the critical emergency works to be expedited and the building to be weatherproofed and made safe.
We were also fortunate in having a committed client whose input into recording and research and particularly into the conservation of Reads archival material was invaluable.
Broadly the main body of the works involved the structural stabilisation of the internal cross walls as well as of the shop-front and brick facade over, the dismantling, conservation and repair of shop-front, interior fixtures and fittings, and fittings, repairs to window sashes, brick repair, and re-pointing in lime to match original Wide Streets Commissioners intentions, removal of decayed cill timbers, at base of shop-front, structural tying in of brick facade to ensure cellular integrity of structure is retained, and the repair and strengthening of the shop-front bressumer beam.
Historic research was carried out by Kelly and Cogan Architects, Simon Moore Cutlery Historian and Peter Walsh Archivist and comprising a full survey, history of the building, its role and that of the Read family in the cultural life of the City, research into the role of the Read family in the cutlery trade in Ireland, the range of goods produced by the family, a history of the shop and a record of goods produced as well as compilation of a genealogy of the Read Family in Ireland and primary auditing and archival categorisation of the surviving Trade Goods on the premises including all surviving trade goods, account books, trade cards , tools and equipment.
The quantity of material generated in this exercise was significantly greater than originally anticipated and the process was both filmed and recorded in written (logbook) and photographic format.
A full record of the research has been lodged with Dublin City Council’s Conservation Department and made available to both the Gilbert Library and the Irish Architectural Archive.
The complexities of the building required an enabling programme of opening up works, which were carried out in early 2016 under Section 5 Approval from Dublin City Council.
This process identified a significant number of issues involving the front façade and spine wall structures which were significantly imperilled due to historic alterations.
Planning Permission for necessary works to the Front Façade, Window Joinery and Shop-front was granted on 08th July 2016 Ref: 2914/16.
With regard to the works themselves, a minimal intervention strategy focussing upon roof weatherproofing to 4 Parliament Street was decided in liaison with Nicola Matthews Conservation Officer of Dublin City Council and Paraic Fallon, Senior Planner Dublin City Council.
The primary issues identified as causing structural failure to the building were the poor quality intervention works carried out in the 1700s which resulted in the removal of a chimney breast at ground and first floors (leaving the stack through three floors above in place), the removal of the spine wall to the original 1760’s shop and dwelling at ground and first floor in the 1770s’, poorly conceived original construction of the front façade, which was found to be free-standing without restraint to the main structure, the absence of adequate floor tie ins to the front walling, significant subsidence due to adjacent building works and poor maintenance and repair historically of the built fabric.
A solution was arrived at in agreement with the Planning and Conservation Officers which identified a series of relevant necessary works aimed at a ‘minimal intervention’ based process of structural intervention to stabilise the building, and a schedule of brick repair and re-pointing to weather it combined with a series of repair based interventions to windows and shop-front.
Following opening up works, Nolan Group were appointed to the works and commenced roofing repair and related weatherproofing works in early September 2016. Those works were extended by agreement to include a range of other internal completion works including plumbing and heating, works to upper floors and plastering etc.
Window repairs were carried out by PJ Murphy and general historic joinery repairs to staircase, shop-front, skirtings and architraves, was carried out by conservation joinery specialist Mr Paul Lawrence.
Following erection of scaffolding, dismantling of the shop-front and provision of full access, it became clear that while the bressumer beam over the shop-front was in better than expected condition, that the wall above had moved considerably and, as a result of poor original construction the front portion of brick had delaminated. It also became clear that the wall was not tied into the main structure of the building and that the fourth floor wall and parapet level above was in a state of imminent collapse and required dismantling and reconstruction. Exposure of the original brick behind the shop-front identified the original brick pointing which became the model (under agreement with the Conservation Officer) for the re-pointing of the front façade.
Further investigation revealed that the brickwork, while in reasonable condition required extensive stabilisation laterally in into the fabric of the party walls, this was achieved this using a combination of corner Heli Ties and bow ties in the floors.
Much of the stabilisation of the fabric was achieved by tying in of the front wall to the floors and party walls and by the structural reinforcement of the existing timber floor beams dating from the 1770’s and resulting from intervention works at that date which removed two intermediate levels of chimney stack and a spine wall at ground and first floor.
These works necessitated the insertion of a new ancillary steel frame while retaining as much of the original fabric as possible. This work was carried out as emergency structural stabilisation works by Agreement with Conservation and Planning Officers following the preparation of a relevant Conservation Impact Assessment.
The works proceeded to completion in 2017.
In November 2017 this project was the Winner of the British Georgian Group’s ‘Diaphoros’ Award.
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Location |
4 Parliament Street and 3 Crane Lane, Dublin 2 |
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Date Of Construction |
1762 |
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Client |
Private |
Location: 4 Parliament Street and 3 Crane Lane, Dublin 2
Date Of Construction: 1762
Client: Private
