End of chapter as Chambers leaves capital after 180 years

Published on Tuesday 15 September 2009 22:03

ONE of the most historic names in Scottish publishing is to lose its presence in the nation's capital after nearly 180 years.

Chambers Harrap, the publishers of the Chambers Dictionary, is to vacate its Edinburgh office, under proposals announced by its parent company.

Despite efforts to find a buyer for Chambers, no interested parties have come forward, and responsibility for the business will now transfer to London.

The move is likely to impact on the firm's 27 Edinburgh staff, and brings to an end an illustrious association with the city.

The body responsible for promoting Scotland's publishing sector bemoaned the loss of an "iconic" brand it described as the "Johnnie Walker of the publishing world".

Michael Russell, culture minister, said: "As one of our oldest book publishers, Chambers is a Scottish institution, so this is a deeply regrettable situation.

"Unfortunately it does, to a certain extent, reflect the changing patterns of how research and reference are now undertaken."

Chambers was established nearly two centuries ago by Peebles-born brothers William and Robert Chambers.

With little training of printing or binding, they managed to publish a run of 750 copies of The Songs of Robert Burns in 1819.

They went on to focus on educational publishing before printing their first dictionary, the Chambers Etymological Dictionary in 1867, followed by the Chambers English Dictionary five years later.

A spokesman for the parent company said he had "enormous respect for the reputation of Chambers, which has a "distinguished history in reference publishing".

However, economic conditions, he added, meant there was no option but to propose the closure of the Hopetoun Crescent head office.

He said: "The market for dictionaries and reference books in print has been in decline for some years and we have looked long and hard for solutions, investigating many options, including trying to find a buyer for Chambers either in Scotland or elsewhere in publishing before ultimately, and very reluctantly, concluding there was no option other than to propose the closure of the Edinburgh offices.

"The digital revolution is changing the way readers consume news and search for information.

"People are moving away from printed reference books and going online where, generally, they expect to get their information for free."

Marion Sinclair, chief executive of Publishing Scotland, said that while she expected the "established" and "authoritative" Chambers name to continue, the closure of its Edinburgh base represented a significant blow.

She said:

"I think the publishing world will feel it strongly. Chambers was always felt to be a strong, well-established business, and one of the biggest Scottish publishers."

She added: "It is not only the Edinburgh base that is being lost, but the editorial expertise. This is one of our iconic brand names, the Johnnie Walker of the publishing world."

Under the plans, responsibility for Chambers will be moved to Hodder Education in London. The imprint will retain its names and titles. The Edinburgh staff were informed of the closure proposal yesterday, and consultations with them and the National Union of Journalists are underway.