The cooking range in a working class London household in the early 1900s

Based on childhood recollections of working class family life in north London in Edwardian times.

There seem to have been a wide variety of shapes and sizes of Victorian and Edwardian kitchen ranges - also known as 'kitcheners'. According to my mother's recollections, each house in the Victorian-style terraces where she grew up had two: a small one in the kitchen and a larger one in the scullery. I would love pictures of what they were like, but although the terraced houses of the Edmonton Huxley Estate are still doing good service as homes, they have all been modernised inside. So no such ranges exist there any more to be photographed.

However, I have culled the following information by discussing the sketch on the right with Bill Hogg who was familiar with similar ranges as a child. Since the sketch is of a double oven, it is probably reasonably similar to the one in the scullery of the Victorian- style terraces. The one in the kitchen probably just had a single oven.

The fuel

According to my mother's recollections, the fuel in all the houses on her Victorian-style terraced housing estate was coal. However, I understand that elsewhere it could have been wood. The coal was put into the range with the shovel and the top could be opened for the purpose. On some ranges, this top hinged up and on others there was a round lid that could could be lifted. No doubt there were other arrangements.

The cooking pots

The cooking pots were either cast iron or a cheap sheet metal. There were no lightweight aluminium cooking pots in the early 1900s, and cast iron was very heavy. Note the kink in the handle of the large cooking pot on the right which was to suspend the pot over the fire. Although the sketch does not show it, some ranges had an arrangement whereby such pots could be suspended and swung over the heat of the flames.

Adjusting the temperature of the ovens

According to my mother, the temperature of the ovens in her home could be regulated with what were known as dampers which controlled the air flow to the fire.

More generally, though, there were several ways to control the air flow. One way was by lifting the lid of the fire. Another was by a sliding control in the flue (chimney) at the back of the range. In some ranges this flue was built in, i.e. hidden behind the back wall.

The flow of the hot air could also be controlled. In particular with the large ranges there was a system of levers to divert and adjust it so as to heat either or both ovens.

Cleaning the range

The range was a cast-iron fire-oven combination which was kept clean with black lead - a polish for cleaning and shining cast iron. According to Anne Davey born Cole), this came in a tin with the picture of a Zebra on.

My mother's notes make it clear that the outer rims of the range in her home were steel and kept bright with emery paper. I understand that, more generally, the insides of the ovens were kept clean by heating them to a high temperature and burning off the soot. The insides of the ovens may have been removable for cleaning purposes.

This website Join me in the 1900s is also known as Join me in the 1900's and is © Pat Cryer.