The restored former Reads Cutlers shop and house at 4 Parliament Street and 3 Crane Lane in Temple Bar is new to the market this week through Knight Frank at €2.5 million.
These back-to-back period properties extend to about 379sq m (4,080sq ft) with No 4 five-storey over basement and No 3 four storey. While essentially separate, they are joined by a feature light-well and stairwell insertion.
The Parliament Street property comes with retail-workshop use at basement, ground and first-floor levels with the overhead floors in residential use. Crane Lane has retail use throughout and comes with a roof terrace.
Zoned Z5 “city centre”, permissible uses include residential, restaurant, shop, guest house, conference centre, cultural, medical and related consultants, office and hotel.
According to the agent, the buildings have been painstakingly restored to their exact design including stock and fittings, decorative ceilings, ornate cornices and original feature fireplaces. In fact, the high standard of restoration resulted in the property securing the Diaphoros Prize from the British Georgian Society in 2017.
Royal charter
Reads Cutlery was established in 1670 by father and son William and James Read. It was granted a royal charter in 1821 to manufacture and supply swords, cutlery, other blades and medical instruments to crown forces in Ireland. The Read family traded and lived in the Parliament Street/Crane Lane property for more than 300 years.
The property also has an important historical association as William Read's daughter, Elizabeth, was mother to Arthur Guinness, founder of the world famous brewery. William Read acquired a licence to sell ale in 1670, and this licence is one of the first written links to brewing in the extended Guinness family.
As for the property’s future use, it may suit as a serviced “bolt-on” offering to a local hotel, for catering or as an historical attraction in which to highlight a company’s brand. But, given the location in the heart of Dublin’s tourist quarter, it may end up servicing some part of this vibrant trade.
