Out With The New In With The Old? Traditional Cast Iron Radiators

By Author: Edward Hall
Total Articles: 93
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In the post-war years the traditional cast iron radiator of the Victorian era had, like many things that harked back to a time of empire and opulence, plummeted out of favour. The cast iron radiator was old fashioned. The days of modernity and efficiency were upon us and there was no place for these cumbersome old relics in our sleek modern homes.

Consigned to vast Victorian villas that had been carved up into doctor's surgeries, dentists, clinics and public offices, the cast iron radiator was not completely eradicated. Hard and heavy to remove, they loitered sulkily down dusty corridors, becoming as institutionalised in the public mind as the buildings they inhabited. These leftovers from another age could be found adulterated in twenty odd layers of pale green paint, rusting at the edges and pumping vast amounts of heat into badly insulated rooms. Many of us are still scarred by the memory of burns inflicted by these preternaturally hot monsters from another age.

However, in our attempts to live in a space-age world, we seemed to loose something. Perhaps it was simply the character of objects designed to ...
... be lived with, the small details of design that made them part of a home, that our determined pursuit of functionality made us overlook. By the beginning of the twenty first century we found ourselves looking back longingly to the grand designs of our forebears. Those of us who had happily placed the sleek flat modern radiator throughout our homes even took to hiding them behind radiator covers. We liked the heat but we'd realised they were just too functional.

Modern designers began to look too the past for inspiration, and when it came to heating it seemed that cast iron radiators did deserve a second look. Cast iron as a material for ‘radiating' heat is ideal and the chunky design of the radiators creates a large surface area to disperse that heat. Traditional cast iron radiators were also meant to look good. Forget the grim relics left over in those carved up Victorian homes, and strip away the layers of paint and neglect. Underneath you will find a well designed, elegant and, yes, even stylish piece of kit.

Cast iron radiators are damned hard to get rid of - which is why they lingered sulkily in those grim waiting rooms of our childhoods. When it comes to longevity, cast iron is a material to be reckoned with. Sadly a lot of original radiators were removed, and with a great deal of effort scrapped and broken up.

But all was not lost. Modern manufacturers and designers have been quick to re-invent the traditional cast iron radiator. At one time best suited to traditional period homes, the cast iron radiator has evolved. Today as designers take a magpie approach to their schemes, they have successfully begun to combine the best from one era and found it fits surprisingly well with another.

Modern cast iron radiators can be purchased in gleaming chrome finishes, or painted just about any colour from fuchsia to the traditional, simple white. Opulent decorated models, inspired by nineteenth century French designs are available complete with ornate floral relief patterns finished in shining gold - the ‘Bling' version of the radiator if ever there was one. Whatever the look you want to achieve, traditional or contemporary, these re-invented radiators make a stunningly bold, sculptural and attractive statement.

With many years in the heating and plumbing industry Edward Hall has for sometime now been writing on such subjects as the cast iron radiator, its history and benefits and imparting his vast knowledge on the subject.