Mr and Mrs Smith at their home in Sword Street, Dennistoun, c 1920s. The couple are photographed sitting in front of their kitchen range, on which there are three kettles. Mrs Smith knits and Mr Smith reads a book.
The range not only provided the occupiers with cooking facilities but it was often the focal point of the tenement home, especially in small flats. It consisted commonly of a fire basket with a hot plate above, and a pan below to collect the waste ashes from the fire. There was an oven on one or both sides of the fire basket and sometimes a boiler for heating water.
The range was often kept lit throughout the day and night, partly because it was an awkward and unpopular task to relight it. Members of the family would gather round the range on cold nights to share the heat it gave off.
Reference: 670.85.5
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
ashes, books, cooking, heating, hot plates, kettles, kitchen ranges, kitchens, knitting, ovens, tiles, water boilers, women