Comments on: London’s Oldest Ironmonger

By: Chris Burley

Chris Burley — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 23:02:51 +0000

In it’s day these were the places to go for just about all door hardware and ironmongery . Later my career in hardware shops saw me joining J D Beardmore at the time in 1974 when they opened a prestigious showroom in Park Street Bristol . As a sales assistant , then assistant manager to manager for the following 8 years . The owner sold it and we started a branch of D A Thomas in Albert Road St Philips from 82 to
87 when I started a Branch to set up for Comyn Ching in Bristol . This became the place to go for everything in the Red Book Bible of what became known as Architectural Ironmongery . Those were the days when companies had PRESENCE . SADLY THE LATEST CHING BROTHERS DROVE IT INTO THE GROUND . So it was wound up and properties sold off . SAD . BUT WERE GREAT YEARS .

By: Peter Harris

Peter Harris — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 14:07:16 +0000

I remember going there around 1970 to buy Architectural Ironmongery. There was always a long slow queue, mainly because everything had to be written by hand in quadruple.
You would wait for them to take your order. Then you would go into another queue to wait for the product. All “trade” buyers. Then you would wait again whilst the invoices & receipt were all written out in great detail. But really could not get the items elsewhere. Great place

By: Jackie Reed

Jackie Reed — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 13:41:01 +0000

What a lovely informative site.I,m a collector of Victorian and Edwardian Pram s and I have one made by this company.It is a c1890s mailcart perambulator very clearly labelled Presland and Sons.A fine example of the style which will be conserved rather than restored.Great to see the photo of premises where my pram was made.Does anyone know when they stopped making them at this address?Did they produce catalogues and are there any in local museums?

By: David Presland

David Presland — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 08:11:01 +0000

I have a picture of this shop when it was Richard M Presland and Sons with people standing out in front of it. I am a direct descendant of Richard Presland

By: Robin

Robin — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 17:20:42 +0000

Beautiful images; fascinating place with such a marvelous history. So sad it’s gone!

By: Steven Burr

Steven Burr — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 23:52:23 +0000

I hope all of this has been preserved!

By: Jill Wilson

Jill Wilson — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 19:25:57 +0000

What a fantastic place and what a shame that it has gone!

There seems to her a bit of a recurring theme developing in your tenth anniversary re-runs – that the place or person you were originally celebrating is no longer with us. How sad that life is duller without them…

By: the gentle author

the gentle author — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 16:05:38 +0000

In reply to Dr Adrien von Ferscht. When the article about Presland & Sons was first published, Comyn Ching was no longer in business and Presland & Sons was de facto London's oldest ironmonger. Now Presland is gone as well.

By: Peter Metaxas

Peter Metaxas — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 13:54:31 +0000

As someone who has always worked in and around mechanical ‘stuff’ I found this fascinating.
I’m going to keep the article open and look at it several time today.
Excellent
Best Regards
Peter
Iona
Prince Edward Island
Canada

By: Dr Adrien von Ferscht

Dr Adrien von Ferscht — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 10:32:33 +0000

For the record, Presland & Sons is not the oldest surviving ironmongers in London; Comyn Ching the architectural ironmongers, were in business in Shelton Street, Seven Dials, Covent Garden from before 1723.

When Sir Terry Farrell was tasked with creating the masterplan of the redevelopment of what became known as the “Comyn Ching Triangle”, integral to the project was the reinstatement and refurbishment of the premises and showroom of the longstanding occupants, Comyn Ching ironmongers, at 17-19 Shelton Street, WC2, as per Historic England’s brief. Throughout the now completed project, the “CC” logo can be seen numerous times in various formats in order to both preserve the Comyn Ching heritage and its continued relevance to the area.

The Seven Dials, laid out in 1692 by Sir Thomas Neale [plans were submitted in 1692 to Sir Christopher Wren, the Surveyor-General, for a building licence], is bounded by Monmouth Street to the W, Mercer Street to the NE and Shelton Street to the SE, and at its core is Ching Court, and a public thoroughfare through it, created in 1983-5.

At the time, the mathematical knowledge necessary to construct accurate sundials, whether trigonometrical or the geometry of projection, was part of the rediscovery in Renaissance Europe of ancient mathematics. This coincided with an upsurge of interest in recreational mathematics, and an everyday need for reliable public timepieces. Sundials were often erected in public places to regulate the growing number of clocks, which though popular were unreliable and inaccurate. A modern version of that sun dial pillar stands at the centrepoint of the convergence of the Seven Dials streets today.

The Comyn Ching Triangle is now listed as a prime example of British Post-Modernism.