Joshua Elliot and Co closes after 103 years

By Louise Walsh

Joshua Elliott and Co, a name synonymous with the furniture trade in Navan, sadly ceased operating in the town last Friday after 103 years.

Simon Elliott ended an era when he reluctantly closed the doors of the business, which once employed over 50 people in its heyday.
The business was situated at Mullaghboy for the last 22 years, after it was moved from its original location in Elliotts Sawmills on the Blackwater.
Simon Elliott closed the business last week, just four months after its owner Ros Elliott died suddenly and only weeks after his own father Wilfrid passed away.
He said that while it was with regret to shut, the business had struggled for years against the rise of pre-manufactured furniture sales.
“There was a general downturn in trade. People are talking about a new economic dawn but that’s in Dublin, not here.
“Joshua Elliott and Co. started off providing timber for furniture and then we switched to providing wood finishes such as stains, coatings and lacquers.
“When the boom came ten years ago, the mass importation and sale of pre-manufactured items killed the furniture trade in Navan.
“We have struggled for years but the last three months have been a disaster. When my aunt Ros died last November, we had to re-evaluate and we had no option but to close.
“I’m very sad to see the end of an era that started with my grandfather. Even my father Wilfrid, who died a few weeks ago, was heavily involved with another Navan legacy - Crannac furniture.
“Ironically, we sold a piece of Crannac furniture on Friday which had belonged to Ros and had been lying around the factory.”
“However, the closure is also a bit of a relief because trying to keep it going was a long struggle in recent times.”
Simon took the opportunity to sincerely thank all the customers, suppliers and friends for all their help down through the years.
The Elliott family connection with Navan dates from the early 1900s, with the arrival of Joshua Elliot from Antrim to work at Navan Sawmill and Furniture Co. in Athlumney.
He lived with the company’s manager Thomas Mortimer in Academy Street and joined him when his boss decided to open his own sawmill business at the Mollies.
He later went to work in England, returning to take over the mill on the death of Thomas Mortimer in 1914. He became a prominent businessman and was one of those responsible for the establishment and development of the furniture industry in the town.
The sawmills became a major source of employment in the town and he was also a member of Navan UDC (Urban District Council) from 1924 until 1936. He also operated a foundry on Ludlow Street.
On his death in 1963, he was a member of the Meath County Infirmary Committee, a peace commissioner and a member of the Select Vestry of St Mary’s Church of Ireland.
His son Alan took over the business until he passed on in 2011 when it went into his wife Ros’s control. The mill still stands in a ruined state on the Mollies after the empty building was destroyed by fire in 2007.