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Cooking Equipment
Well before the arrival of the Aga, the Rayburn or the Esse Cooker Garton & King , and their predecessors Garton & Jarvis, not only retailed other manufacturers Stoves – the Eagle Range & Grate Company being one and the Herald range of Stoves being another example – but also manufactured and marketed their own.
The 1851 Great Exhibition boosted the fame and reputation of Garton & Jarvis as it was then, not least by the patronage afforded by the H.R.H. The Prince Consort of the Cottage Stove. (See Chapter 5) Two photographs in this section show the ‘Model Cottage’ after it was relocated and rebuilt in Kennington Park, London after the Exhibition. The Prince Consort was deeply involved in improving conditions for the working man and his Model Cottage incorporated many of his ideas. Search Model Cottage http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/ leads to an interesting & simple resumee of this.
In 1855 Garton & Jarvis displayed at another great trade exhibition The Paris Universal Exhibition. Logistically this must have been quite an undertaking as no doubt the items for display had to be conveyed by horse and cart and rail and ship to France and then by rail and horse and cart to the Exhibition site. No forklifts, no Channel Tunnel and certainly no Road Hauliers.
From 1850 sales not only of the Cottage Stove but the Medium and Larger Stoves increased (Haldon, Exminster, Exonian and Rectory are some examples) and it is most fortunate that records exist showing not only the Private Purchases made from 1850 up to about 1870 but for certain models up to about 1900. The documentation is enthralling reading as it gives the name of the purchaser, the type and size of the stove and the amount paid and the date. For the larger stoves it is a heady mix of Nobility’ Clergymen and well heeled businessmen.
Amongst the list of purchasers one can tell that Agents for the Company are working hard to export the products and Sydney, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand appear as some of the more distant destinations. Gunn & Ross of Dunedin in south island were one of the stockists of Garton & Jarvis’s (and later Garton & King’s) Stoves.
The 1900 Catalogue mentions many stoves with familiar Devon names – The Exonian, The Haldon and the Exminster Range. Some of the drawings are works of art and a few examples are to be seen here including some for Steam Cooking Apparatus. I have included also some photographs of items still around today.!
Steam Cooking
Apparatus
There is no indication as to where this Apparatus might
have ended up but we’re talking large scale quantities here. The
top left diagram shows a cross section through a compartment; the lid
apparently can be opened very easily as there is a weight and pulley
mechanism. The diagram to the right shows a view from the top. The
compartments from the left are marked as follows:
40 Gall: Water – 150 Gall: Potatoes
– 90 Gall: Meat & Soups – Tea 12 Gall: Kettle.
One
can only assume this was intended for a large institution like a
Hospital or a Hotel. Of the size of, say, the Rougemont. I mention this
Hotel as there is firm evidence that Garton & King supplied all the
kitchen equipment for the Rougemont Kitchens as well as the Laundry and
Steam Drying Room.
Display
The company set up displays at many events in the Westcountry and my
first thought was that this was a display from an Agricultural Show,
however, there are only three cities in Devon and Cornwall, Plymouth,
Truro and Exeter so the sign that says “Free delivery within the City”
must refer to Exeter and therefore I believe this display of Ranges and
Cooking Equipment is at a stand at a Show in or near to Exeter. Close
examination shows a comprehensive display of Pots, Pans, Utensils,
Measuring Jugs, Funnels, Mincers, Cake Tins, Toasting Racks and Jelly /
Blancmange Moulds. There is also an intrigueing advert for a “One Night Corn Cure”
The Railway Cottage Stove
The
Poster is printed by Besley & Son Exeter. The Exeter Foundry means
Waterbeer Street Foundry. The stove was available at 30”
33” & 36” widths and was available Right or Left
handed. By 1900 this stove had increased to £2.2s.6d,
£2.7s.6d and to £2.12s.6d for the 3ft wide model. Click
to enlarge
Milk Scalding Stove What
is a Milk Scalding Stove you might well ask! We take pasteurised milk
for granted nowadays – pasteurisation does exactly what Scalding
did in Victorian times – kills all the bacteria and enzymes once
180 degrees Fahrenheit is reached. In this stove the fire is central
and the flue passes right and left through the reservoir of water into
which the pans of milk are inserted. The covers are supplied so that,
if required, one pan of milk only can be scalded at a time.
£4.16s. of your hard earned money in 1900 – but you do get a
solid brass tap! Click to enlarge
Holcombe Court
Holcombe
Court appears to be a treasure trove of things Garton & King!. My
thanks to Mr Wiggins for permitting me to visit and photograph this
Gem. I would imagine the chances of finding another Stove of this size
still in its original location as extremely unlikely. The Rev William
Rayer purchased Holcombe Court from the Bluett family in 1858, on his
death the estate passed to William Carew Rayer (1820 – 1892). W.
C. Rayer purchased the Universal Stove on July 6th 1866 and paid the
princely sum of £13 for the 5 foot wide model. Holcombe Court
appears in other Product Sections on this Website.
Holcombe Court
– closeup
Holcombe
Court – Exonian type
Steam
Cooking Apparatus
This type of apparatus found much favour in
Hospitals and Large hotels. This drawing gives no indication of the
ultimate customer but should be appreciated for its attention to detail
and the colouring, presumably achieved with brush and watercolours.
Stove and Bread Oven
This
solidly made apparatus – one can hardly call it an appliance
– catered for the industrious and skilful Housewife / Cook. How
successful was the combination of the two I do not know. In many
instances the bread oven was separate from the main cooker.
Barnstaple
Agricultural Exhibition
In 1859 this range was exhibited at the
Barnstaple Exhibition. And total price came to £9 .and a
halfpenny. Whilst it may seem somewhat mean to charge a halfpenny one
should remember that the spending power of that amount was quite
considerable and of course the farthing was still in existence until
after WW2.
The 1909 Roasting Range
Quite when
this 6 foot wide range was introduced is uncertain. It certainly does
not appear in the 1900 Catalogue of Cooking Stoves but the style is
similar to other earlier versions.
Large Range
This
artists impression of a large range is shown for its artistic quality
as a drawing more than anything else. Similar sketches abound in the
Archives and this specimen is a particularly attractive example.
Full Sized Range
This
is an Albumen Photograph of a Full Sized
Range. There are no clues to the Model Name or Date of Manufacture but
you can be assured that the purchaser would be unable to forget the
makers name as it is cast into the ironwork and is particularly
prominent at the rear of the range.
Devon Club and Hotel
Range
This Albumen Photograph is of a model from the Devon Club and
Hotel Range. Some models incorporated a Boiler “prepared for any
pressure of water when required, with power sufficient to provide, in
connection with a system of circulation, a practically unlimited supply
of hot water.”
The fire is placed at the furthest end from
the wall – the appliance stands out into the kitchen with the
upright Hot Closet fixed in the usual recess of a firplace opening.
Models are in the region of 7’ 6” long and around 2’
6” wide. There are several flues involved in the construction and
a check – draught immediately under the hot plate allows the
option of Hot Plate Cooking or Roasting & Baking in the Ovens by
its diversion of the direction of the heat.
The Boiler Equipped
Devon Club and Hotel Range.
Immediately above the fire at the
outward end of the range one can see the flow and return pipes for the
boiler option on this series of ranges.
Examples from a
Catalogue
On the left we have The Devonian. Invented and
manufactured by Garton & King this range is Range is suitable for
large establishments and incorporates several improvements on previous
models which makes it a most complete kitchen apparatus. You should be
able to enlarge this picture to read the detailed description. The
model on the right is the Exonian Cooking Stove (with the added bonus
of a powerful Back Boiler and provision for steam cooking). Click to enlarge
March 1895
Drawing
of a combination Steamer and (Gas) Cooker. The steamer compartments
being on the left hand side of the Drawing.
Another page from the Garton &
King Catalogue
Here we have examples of a Devon Farm Cooking Stoive,
a combined Stove and Milk Scalder: the oven enabling the cooking of
large joints or the baking of Bread. The Oxford Range requires far more
space than most – it seems to be an early model and possibly not
a particularly fast selling model as later versions seem to incorporate
the right hand Steam Cooking facility and the left hand Hotplate in
one. click to enlarge
The Exminster Range
A pen and ink
lithograph. The top left and top right compartments are Warming Ovens.
Once again the G & K name is a prominent reminder of the
manufacturer.
Cooking
Range Sketch
To draw these sketches must have been particularly time
consuming – most of the catalogues I have seen are in monochrome
so I am uncertain as to the idea behind the hand tinting of the drawing.
Prince Alberts
Model Cottage
The following two pictures show the Model Cottage as
it is today. It was relocated to Kennington Park after the 1851
Exhibition.
Prince
Alberts Model Cottage
The inscription on the Balcony reads: “Model Houses for Families. Erected by
H.R.H. Prince Albert”
Corwyn House Bread Oven
The
owner allowed me to photograph this Bread Oven fitted still in the
kitchen (next to a large Aga) of this house at Cheriton Bishop. Many
bread ovens never showed the manufacturer’s name –
thankfully this one does.