Author: OliverOsborne

  • Abraham Darby’s kitchen grate

    Abraham Darby’s kitchen grate

    I was up at Coalbrookdale again recently to see some of the sites that I didn’t have time for on my last visit.  First on the list was the Darby houses.  Abraham Darby I’s house wasn’t open to due to a lack of volunteers but his sons house was.  In the kitchen was this fantastic perpetual oven, roasting grate and hotplate.

  • A little “Nipper” stove ready for home

    A little “Nipper” stove ready for home

    Here we have a nice little “Nipper” stove ready to head back home.  Due to their compact size these stoves were used in all sorts of place from caravans, boats, cabins and offices.  At 21″ wide they can fit almost anywhere

  • 1930s Crittall Cooker

    1930s Crittall Cooker

    We recently acquired this fantastic Crittall Cooker from the kitchen of Glynde Place in Sussex.  It dates from the 1930s and is in beautiful original condition.  It is of a European design, possible manufactured by the famous Briffault company and badge engineered over here by Richard Crittall & Co.  The mouldings are nickel plated iron and brass the the body is vitreous enameled sheet steel.

    This range is available in its original condition or fully restored back to working order.

  • Stunning Hostess No35 for showmans van

    Stunning Hostess No35 for showmans van

    They might be a lot of work but these brilliant little Hostess range really are a thing to behold.  These ranges would have been fitted to the vast majority of travelling wagons and van for both the showmen and gypsies of the late 19th/ early 20th century.  This examples dates from circa 1920 and now restoration is complete it will be returned to its original van

  • ‘New Gold Medal Eagle Range’ restoration complete at Hinton House

    ‘New Gold Medal Eagle Range’ restoration complete at Hinton House

    We have just completed the restoration and installation of this fantastic New Gold Medal Eagle Range.  It is original to the building, dating from circa 1920 and removed by our team two years ago when the work at Hinton House formally began.  We successfully  lit a fire in the grate for the first time in probably in excess of 70 years and it drew perfectly.  Very pleased with this one.

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  • 1890s ‘Utilis’ Kitchen range for Gressenhall museum

    1890s ‘Utilis’ Kitchen range for Gressenhall museum

    Here is a picture our client at Gressenhall Museum and Workhouse sent us after they had put back all the period decorations on the kitchen range we restored for them a short while ago.  This range is used regularly when the museum is open and I’m told they even teach visiting schools how to cook on it!

  • Hostess No35 Showmans

    Hostess No35 Showmans

    And here’s another beautiful Hostess No35 from  a 1930s showman’s van.  You can’t get much posher than this!  We completed a full restoration on this including new casting, vitroeus enamel and nickel plating.  A picture speaks a thousand words comes to mind.

  • Sand moulds in preperation for a Coalbrookdale casting

    Sand moulds in preperation for a Coalbrookdale casting

    Here is an image of the sand mould that has been prepared by packing the sand around the wooden pattern that we prepared a short while ago.  The mould will now be closed and and liquid iron poured into the cavity that has been left and so producing the required iron casting for this project.

  • New Gold Medal Eagle Range

    New Gold Medal Eagle Range

    A fire lit in a stunning ‘New Gold Medal Eagle Range’

  • ‘The Cookwell’ Baxendales

    ‘The Cookwell’ Baxendales

    Here is an interesting closed range dating from circa 1910 but installed in an 18th century property in Kirkby Lonsdale.  A huge amount of work was required to bring this range back to working order but we were extremely pleased to light tbe fire on the last day we were there and see the chimney puffing away for the first time in at least half a century.

    ‘Cookwell’ closed fire range early 20th c