As quick as I can get them out the door another one appears! Here is another Beetonette that has come in for restoration. It’s a 1930s model and features some very nice simplistic Art Deco stylings. It is in pretty good condition aswell with only the oven trivet and door release missing. I’m looking forward to seeing this one complete again.
Category: Victorian Cooking Ranges
Information and restoration about Victorian ‘Closed’ type cooking ranges.
-
…and another Beetonette!
-
Another Belle Portable range in for restoration
This range is fairly typical of the kind that come here for restoration. On the outside they look tired and tatty but in reasonable order but inside they are a mess. It is for this reason that I am so diligent with my restorations as a range that appears to be in fair aesthetic condition could (and probably is) in very poor working condition. It’s sometimes easy to forget that these ranges are 100+ years old and for much of that time they may have had a coal fire inn them for 12hrs of the day!
-
Beetonette completed and ready for sale
Well after a pretty involved restoration the Bettonette boiler is now fully restored and ready for its new home. Go to the ‘Shop’ tab at the top of the page to view it.
-
Beetonette diffuser plate and firestones
I’ve now finished the Beetonette so it is patiently waiting to be collected by the couriers this week. Here is a quick pic of the finished internals. All firebox plates are new save the one of the boiler side, the whole damper assemply is also new as is the grate, oven and diffuser plate. This one was a big job to get back together again!
-
1885 UTILIS range for Gressenhall museum
I was contacted earlier in the year by Gressenhall farm and workhouse museum regarding the restoration of their cooking range that they use to show visitors and school children how the Victorians cooked.
It was in a poor state or repair with many parts having suffered from heat fatigue and many other damaged or lost by a previous ‘restoration’. The later is one of the biggest offenders when ranges are concerned. More damage can be done by a poor restoration than would have been casued if it has been left well alone and used as is.I will do a full write up of this restoration when it is complete but in the mean time here are some pictures showing some new fabricated replacement parts and some patterns being made to replace missing or badly damaged parts.
-
Another range complete
Here’s another range complete. I have taken care of the restoration of the ironwork whilst the builders have been hard at work on the surround and brickwork. This range required a completely new top plate, hot plates, damper etc. The top plate proved to be a very tricky casting to produce due to its size but it came out very nicely and is now fit for service again.
-
Early range to be restored
I was contacted by a company restoring a very prestigious house in Bristol that was built between 1780 and 1820. Much of the range appears to be in reasonable condition but the top plate has suffered from a long working life along with the hot plates. As much of the original range will be kept as possible but section that have suffered too badly will be renewed. These news parts will be dated and labelled to add to the chronology of the range whilst maintaining it in working order.
-
Larbert with boiler in its new home!
Larbert with boiler in its new home!
Well the Larbert with boiler sold and is in its new home and its looking grand sat against the blue tiles.
I had an email today with this picture attached showing breakfast simmering on the hob. That night the range cooked Guinea Fowl for dinner and the kettle was bubbling away all day. Now that’s what I like to hear!
-
Guidwife narrowboat back cabin stove
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!
-
Very ealry ‘Open’ Range
Now here is something that doesn’t come up very often at all. It’s a beautifully cast early ‘open’ range, called such because the firebox was open rather than the fully enclosed ranges produced later in the century. This range bridges the gap between the 18th century open down hearth ranges and the later closed type. Early cooking was preformed in a wrought iron grate, usually with adjustable cheeks with various ancillary parts like a chimney crane, spits and smoke jacks and spit jacks etc to turn them.
Here, various features of the earlier method have been retained like the adjustable cheek (used to alter the size of the fire) and chimney crane. However, the fire now features an oven and hot plates for cooking and the whole is cast into a range with fantastic classical detailing. The cheek is moved via a rack that is wound with a crank handle engaged in a socket to the bottom left of the firebox- a great detail!
I have loosely mocked this range up but will be restoring it at some point early next year unless otherwise requested. Most likely dating from around 1830-1840.
