TWO SMALL businesses operating from the Craft Courtyard at Wells House & Gardens expressed shock and disappointment this week after receiving solicitors letters from the owners of the premises terminating their contracts and requesting that they vacate the premises within the month. The Tate Guerin Gallery and Design Shop and the FaeryWood Shop have both been asked to leave the Craft Courtyard and are now left without a premises to operate from.
The letter which came care of Mr Uli Rosler, who operates the popular tourist attraction along with his wife Sabine, allegedly gave no reason for the termination of the contracts as all that was required, under the contract, was one month’s notice.
Paula Tate Guerin, proprietor of The Tate Guerin Gallery and Tate Guerin Design at Wells House, said that the move came as a complete shock, particularly as she had spent money herself converting the space in recent years.
“I have always promoted Wells House and its owners in an adulating and positive manner,” she said. “When I converted two apartments overlooking the courtyard in 2014 to create a much larger and ideal space for Art, I thought I would be running the gallery there for many years to come. In fact I approached Sabine (Rosler) in June and asked her if things would remain the same because I wanted to invest more money in the shop. She said go ahead, that she wanted me to grow along with Wells House and I invested another €2,000.”
“I am completely devastated by the decision of Wells House to oust me from both my Design Shop and Art Gallery,” she continued. “And the felling of dejection will, I am certain, take a long time to heal. Unfortunately and with great distress, I must now cancel future exhibitions.”
Artists who have work on display at the Tate Guerin Gallery are now also being asked to make arrangements to collect it over the coming days, as Ms Tate Guerin has been told to vacate the property by October 14.
There was similar sadness from The FaeryWood Shop who, after four years trading at Wells House, have also been asked to leave. In a statement issued online, the management said: “As this has come as a shock to us, we now have no home – other than out here in this cold ‘web-world’. We are currently looking for a new home where we can meet you again and you can come visit us.”
When asked for comment on the matter, Sabine Rosler said that there was a set of rules and regulations that all crafters had to comply with and only two of six businesses had been asked to leave, implying a breach on their behalf.
“I can’t really discuss the matter as it’s currently with the solicitors,” she said. “Basically there is a set of standard rules and regulations that crafters are expected to abide by. The rates have been more than fair and summer or winter rates have not increased since we opened in 2012. We are still totally committed to the Craft Courtyard and of the six shops, only two have been asked to leave.”
When asked about the investment that Ms Tate Guerin had made in the gallery space, Ms Rosler stated that certain incentives had been made available to the tenant as a result of work carried out, such as going rent-free for a period.
“I’m as upset as anyone about all of this,” said Ms Rosler. “There are 13 businesses under the umbrella of Wells House and we want to see them all do well, as it makes more to see and do here. We cannot comment on the matter too much, as it is in the hands of the solicitors, but all I can say is that both myself and my husband are 100% behind the Craft Courtyard.”
The Craft Courtyard at Wells House. Pic: Christy Farrell.