Baby Belling boiling table and oven/grill unit
Cooker
1972-1973 (made)
1972-1973 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In 1912, Charles Belling (1884-1965) started his own business in Lancaster Road, Enfield, manufacturing electric heaters.Belling revolutionised electric fire design with the creation of the Firebar in 1912 and was soon supporting the war effort by producing heating equipment for submarines. In 1913 he acquired additional factory space at Derby Road, Edmonton. The range of products widened to include electric water heaters (1913) electric cookers (1919) and immersion heaters (1920).
In 1931 Belling launched the first 100 per cent enamelled cooker onto the market, unveiled the new and improved No.40 Baby Belling Cooker and became the first manufacturer to introduce glass doors to its ovens. By the 1950s soaring sales persuaded the company to purchase a new 30 acre site in Burnley in 1955. The new site was used solely for the production of all fires, allowing the Enfield factory to concentrate on the production of electric cookers of all shapes and sizes. In 1955 Belling continued to expand their operation with the purchase of a second manufacturing site in Burnley. By the time of the company's Golden Jubilee in 1962 Belling & Co owned 70 acres of freehold property with more than a million square feet of production space and was manufacturing one heater or cooker every six seconds. The company had over 3,000 employees. In 1962 the Belling 'Forty-seven' was Britain's most popular cooker and in 1965 Charles Belling died. In 1992, Belling was acquired by Glen Dimplex. It remains one of the major manufacturers of cookers in Britain today.
In 1931 Belling launched the first 100 per cent enamelled cooker onto the market, unveiled the new and improved No.40 Baby Belling Cooker and became the first manufacturer to introduce glass doors to its ovens. By the 1950s soaring sales persuaded the company to purchase a new 30 acre site in Burnley in 1955. The new site was used solely for the production of all fires, allowing the Enfield factory to concentrate on the production of electric cookers of all shapes and sizes. In 1955 Belling continued to expand their operation with the purchase of a second manufacturing site in Burnley. By the time of the company's Golden Jubilee in 1962 Belling & Co owned 70 acres of freehold property with more than a million square feet of production space and was manufacturing one heater or cooker every six seconds. The company had over 3,000 employees. In 1962 the Belling 'Forty-seven' was Britain's most popular cooker and in 1965 Charles Belling died. In 1992, Belling was acquired by Glen Dimplex. It remains one of the major manufacturers of cookers in Britain today.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Baby Belling boiling table and oven/grill unit (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Steel, stamped with vitreous enamel and moulded plastic |
| Brief description | Baby Belling boiling table and oven/grill unit, designed and manufactured by Belling & Co Ltd, Great Britain, 1972-1973. |
| Physical description | Baby Belling boiling table and oven/grill unit. A rectangular box of pressed steel with vitreous white enamel, hinged door with a recessed handle on the right, two hotplates on top with a narrow, rectangular splashback at the rear. The control panel, a narrow strip, slightly canted and enamelled in a contrasting dark brown at the front above the door with four evenly spaced, white plastic control buttons and two warning lights. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | ring 1, ring 2, grill, oven selector, baby / Belling
|
| Credit line | Gift of the manufacturer |
| Object history | Historical significance: Winner of the Design Centre Award in 1972. The first Baby Belling cooker was launched in 1924. Now, nearly two million Baby Bellings later, the newest version has two radiant boiling rings with infinite heat control- and an oven with thermostatically controlled heating elements at the top and bottom for even cooking. Key specifications for this model were that it had to work off an ordinary 13amp plug so that it could be used in bed-sitters and small homes without special wiring and that the standard of cooking would be high. Thus the capacities of the boiling rings were chosen so that, when used together, they are taking almost the maximum possible power from the 13amp plug; when either the oven or grill is switched on, the large 2kW ring is automatically switched off, leaving the 1kW ring in use. The oven itself gives maximum possible capacity within the power available and will take, for instance, a plump 12lb turkey. Where a normal 30 amp cooking circuit is at hand, a special Baby Belling without the switching limitation is available. This works well in nurses' homes, student hostels and holiday camps; already some thousands of this version have been sold. The grill/oven unit and the boiling table are also available separately, making split level cooking possible at a modest price. Baby Belling cooker 120 and 320, boiling table 220, and oven/grill 620, designed and made by Belling and Co Ltd; prices from £12.95-£29.95. Design Journal, COID Awards 1972, London, March, 1972, pp.29-34. |
| Summary | In 1912, Charles Belling (1884-1965) started his own business in Lancaster Road, Enfield, manufacturing electric heaters.Belling revolutionised electric fire design with the creation of the Firebar in 1912 and was soon supporting the war effort by producing heating equipment for submarines. In 1913 he acquired additional factory space at Derby Road, Edmonton. The range of products widened to include electric water heaters (1913) electric cookers (1919) and immersion heaters (1920). In 1931 Belling launched the first 100 per cent enamelled cooker onto the market, unveiled the new and improved No.40 Baby Belling Cooker and became the first manufacturer to introduce glass doors to its ovens. By the 1950s soaring sales persuaded the company to purchase a new 30 acre site in Burnley in 1955. The new site was used solely for the production of all fires, allowing the Enfield factory to concentrate on the production of electric cookers of all shapes and sizes. In 1955 Belling continued to expand their operation with the purchase of a second manufacturing site in Burnley. By the time of the company's Golden Jubilee in 1962 Belling & Co owned 70 acres of freehold property with more than a million square feet of production space and was manufacturing one heater or cooker every six seconds. The company had over 3,000 employees. In 1962 the Belling 'Forty-seven' was Britain's most popular cooker and in 1965 Charles Belling died. In 1992, Belling was acquired by Glen Dimplex. It remains one of the major manufacturers of cookers in Britain today. |
| Bibliographic reference | Design Journal, COID Awards 1972, London, March 1972. pp.29-34. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.443-1973 |
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| Record created | April 28, 2011 |
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