• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Cookers

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
Anyone remember these cookers? We had the cream coloured Creda electric in the second photo with the square hot plate. I never learnt to cook on gas as we didn't have it. I remember people always said that electric was 'cleaner' than gas. Maybe it was back in the 1950s. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1424700857.611046.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1424700867.966326.jpg
 
I do remember all the fuss and palava when we were converted from town gas to natural gas and they told us the cooker would have to be replaced.

And, like fools, we believed them...
 
I recall that the only thing that had to be done was the pilot flame had to disconnected.
 
Bernard
It probably depended om how old the cooker was. Certainly my mothers cooker had to have new bits . I think probably the burner heads (or whatever you call them)
 
Bernard
It probably depended om how old the cooker was. Certainly my mothers cooker had to have new bits . I think probably the burner heads (or whatever you call them)[/QUOTE

From memory I am sure Mike is correct in what he says. One thing , which of course was baloney, was that the gas people proudly proclaimed that North Sea gas would be so cheap that it might even be free. Anyone else remember that joke?
 
Think I do Radiorails as my Dad agreed to have a gas fire installed after years of relying upon a coal fire (for heat and hot water via the boiler at the back of the fire) followed by an emersion heater for hot water and an electric stove for cooking. And there's a blast from the past: "stoves" Not a word you hear much these days. Then eventually he was won over to gas. Viv.
 
Our gtans cooker was like the little grey one on legs, I can see the big stew pot on it now.
Alan, I remember when they told us North Sea gas would be cheaper, think we all believed it.
Lynne/
 
Hi Lynne. Those grey cookers (stoves) were, I think, enamelled in a blotchy grey colour. And they had very heavy doors on them. I had a friend who had one up until a few months ago. She reported a gas leak from hers and when the engineer came to inspect it he plastered a prohibition order on it so she couldn't use it. There seems to be no way of fixing these old appliances - I'm not totally convinced, but try telling that to a gas engineer. Viv.
 
When I got married in 1957 we lived in rooms and there was a very old gas cooker it was absolutely covered in grease and my husband to be spent hours cleaning it up, but every time I used the oven it was dreadful to light and many a time I was in tears of frustration trying to light it. After a few weeks we asked our landlady if we could replace it, joy of joys I bought a lovely white Flyford Flavell with a timer set in the low back, no overhead grill, we had if from the Gas Hall which was situated by the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, it was very expensive for the time around 50 guineas.
 
I was delighted when they converted my cooker as one ring was broken and they fitted a gas gun on it as well - proper posh !!!
 
Hi guys
Just reading some of of our members experiences of cookers and I would like to asked them what are there preferences
Do they prefers and like best ,
Gas/ electric, is my question, my preference is gas because you can control it from the heat wise and you still maintain the heat
When turned down in the instance of fires as well it keeps it heat
But electric dies when it turned off or down I have gas heating but I have an electric cooker for cooking
But I am thinking of converting to gas what are your views any body ,,,,,Astonian,,,,,
 
Thanks all for your comments. As our cooker at home was electric I learned to cook by electric. But when I left home as a student I had to get used to a gas cooker. Being faced with using a gas cooker I was amazed at how much more quick and convenient they are. I now live in a house with only electric again and still wish we had a gas cooker. So my answer to Astonian's question is " Go for Gas" ! Viv.
 
I can remember during War time mother's gas cooker gave up the ghost and thrown out. An uncle sent a two burner gas contraption down from Sheffield to Brum. This was installed on the draining board of the sink and connected to the gas by a thin rubber hose. No oven so no slow roasts for that old tough beef or even rabbit stew!!
 
I prefer gas cookers, but when I was moved to a flat due to slum clearance in 1967 had to have an electric cooker, this was after the Ronan Point disaster in the London area caused by a gas explosion in a tower block. I was given £70 to buy an electric cooker - I chose an English Electric which was £74.00 (funny how one remembers such detais) putting the extra £4 to the voucher. It was a nice looking cooker but it took a lot of getting used to. I then bought a house and from then on have always had a gas cooker.
 
aga 1a.jpeg aga 1.jpg
This story is in todays Daily Mail, I know it's not Birmingham but thousands of brummies have seen or used an Aga. In the D.Mail online there are a number of photos and quite a large script all about the appliance.
 
I had two step sisters and one of them married a coal miner who lived in Atherstone. They moved into a new coal board house in Dordon and that had an AGA in a room off the kitchen. This room served as a small sitting come dining room.
 
Back
Top