The Museum Collection: House and Home
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Heating
A cast iron Bath-pattern fire grate from the end of the 18th century. Coal became relatively cheap from about that time and through the 19th century and much of the 20th century. It came from a building in Silver Street, Bradford which was once a grocer and a dairy, but which dates back to the 15th century.
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Before central heating became common, portable paraffin heaters were useful for temporarily heating particular areas of the house. They burned paraffin (kerosene), a light oil- usually Aladdin Pink or Esso Blue (named from the colour of added dyes). This is one of a pair that were used to heat the Christopher chemist shop.
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Lighting
A wall-mounted oil lamp, or sconce. It produced light from the flame from burning paraffin oil (kerosene). The light was spread by the polished metal reflector behind the flame.
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Another paraffin lamp is this “Bat” storm lantern which would have been used as a portable light source, especially out of doors because the flame is well protected from wind.
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Gas lighting was installed in the streets of Bradford after the gas works opened in 1834. The system was gradually extended to homes for lighting as well as cooking and for washing. This gas light bracket is missing some parts, including the decorative glass globe that surrounded the flame.
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Washing and ironing
Washing was a hard physical chore taking all day, usually Monday until washing machines became cheap enough for ordinary people. Heavily soiled textiles might have to be boiled to get them clean; coal-fired boilers were often built into out-houses. This washing boiler (helpfully named in case you forgot what it was for) was used on top of a gas stove or ring. It is of enamel-coated steel.
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The washboard was used for the hard grind of scrubbing clothes to clean them. The face usually had ridges made of wood, tin- or zinc-coated steel or, like this one, of glass. After they became redundant they made a useful percussion instrument in groups playing skiffle or jazz music.
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Two blocks of soap (below), made by Carwardine and by Christopher Thomas, both in Bristol. The manufacture of soap was a major industry in Bristol, where it dated back to the middle ages. Thomas’ became a supplier on a national scale in the 19th and 20th centuries; their big factory, now Gardiner’s, is a prominent landmark in St Philip’s.
Dyeing of 
Dyeing could be done at home during the wash using “Jazz” dye soaps which were made by Christopher Thomas in Bristol.
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Old-fashioned flat irons have spread like a plague through museum collections. However, this is a less common polishing iron– much smaller and with a well-finished curved base. It would have been used where a polished finish was desired, such as on shirt collars.