There is very little information commonly available about the Caledonian (sometimes written as Caledonia) Stove and Iron works yet many of their products have gained more and more popularity over the years. The Caledonian Works was owned by Lane and Girvan Ltd on a site near Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire. It operated from 1904 and finally closed in 1977.
Images of the works can be seen here;
https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/hes/46793/bonnybridge-caledonian-stove-and-iron-works/rcahms
They produced many light castings such as rain water goods as well as products like the Queen Anne Stove ( or Queenie), Dumpy Stove, ‘Nipper’ Stove and ‘Dover’. Examples of these can still be found today and Osborne Restoration supplies spare parts and full restoration services for these appliances.
Well we have finally begun the move to the new (much larger) workshop so thank you to all those who have been patient during this time. You can expect big changes to the website, services and products over the coming months with some exciting new developments like the manufacture of very high quality replica ‘Nipper’ stoves, ‘Hostess’ ranges and authentic Larbert and Guidwife ‘Back cabin stoves’!
I will post with more details on this as time goes on.
All the best.
Olly
To say these don’t come up very often is an extreme understatement! Here we have a 24″ Guidwife range exactly like those that would have been traditionally used in the back cabin of working narrow boats. It was found in the shed of a house in London near the canal when the owners moved in.
All it is missing is its brass fiddle rail. It’ll be on the bench for restoration soon!
Here’s another range beautifully installed on a live aboard boat. I can’t claim the reward for this work but the range has been fitted with one of my adapters. The owner of the range had been looking for someone to make one for nearly a year when they came across the site!
The range is a Guidwife and a model often used on historic boats.
I’ve had a few deliveries over the last week and here’s the result, you guessed it- ranges!
I tend to try and get my hand on anything cast by the Caledonian Stove and Iron Works so when this beautifully deco ‘Dover’ range came up I had to have it!
Secondly a very smart 26″ Belle Portable with removable oven. These narrower ranges are increasingly hard to come by especially in this condition!
Next is a very nice but fairly rusty Larbert 410114 30″ range, these are very pretty with their strap hinges and curve top oven doors. The firebox drop doors that are always missing will be replaced in the restoration with new ones that I have had cast in England from high quality grey iron.
Finally, here is something really special! It’s a very nice little 24″ model, the kind of stove that can be found in narrowboat back cabins but can also slip into many standard chimney openings. It’s had a hard old life but we’ll get him ship shape again before long!
Here’s a really nice little range that came in for restoration a short while ago. It is “The Improved Cam” a model manufactured at the Caledonian Stove and Iron works and here it is nearing completion and preparing to be shipped back to its owner next week.
This is the latest range to be restored, a very nice early Guidwife range like those used in traditional back cabins in working narrow boats. Look in the shop for more photos and the price.
The recent drop in the weather has had me firing up the range some days. Never a chore mind!
Mine is a Guidwife range cast by the Caledonian Stove and Iron works of Bonnybridge. It has a period glazed door over the firebox that must have been made by the maintenance man at the hotel from which it came.
I tend to leap on anything from the Columbian or Caledonia Stove and Iron works as they’re two of my favourite foundaries. They manufactured some very popular items that still retain a following today along with the Dumpy and Queene stove were the Nipper, Fairy, Stratford and Dover ranges. etween them they had also sorts of uses from shepherds huts, guards huts, living wagons, boats, workshops etc. Below is a nice (albeit extremely neglected) example of the Fairy having just made the long trip down from Wigan.
It will have the vitreous enamel removed and a traditional black lead polish applied.
It’s been a busy week on the ranges front with two new aquisitions and two that arrived to be restored. The new ranges are the early Guifwife portable range below and a Belle portable and the restorations are the cottage open range below and another Belle portable destined to be returned to the ploughmans living wagon from where it came.
