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Sarah Beeny - Rise Hall
Sarah Beeny and her husband, Graham Swift, came to visit during the summer to shoot for Beenys Restoration Nightmare. They were interested in the history of plumbing and researching the original features their family home, Rise Hall, would have had.
Tony explained that their property when originally built in 1845 would not have had any plumbing as we now understand it. Many of the people employed upon this estate would have been engaged in fetching and carrying fresh water throughout the house and clearing the waste water away.
An old zinc bath with a rudimentary woodstove attached demonstrated the most basic form of water heater. Through simple convection the water circulates through the boiler and around the bath and in quite a short period of time reaches an adequate temperature for bathing.
The bath is simply a water container without any waste connections so to keep the Lord or Lady of the Manor in good fettle over 300 litres of water – thats thats over 60 gallons – were required to be carried into, and afterwards, out of the house. The bath and stove also would have to be ferried around along with the wood for the burner itself.
Handles were not uncommon on old copper and tin baths to facilitate moving to the most favoured bathing location – in front of a blazing fire. The next bath we showed the team was a cast iron bath with wheels and pulley for lugging through the house from storage in the bowels of the mansion.
From baths we moved to W/C’s. Sarah was fascinated with the origins of the flushing toilet – particularly George Jennings Closet of the Century. This early masterpiece incorporated some major plumbing innovations which are still in use today.
In the tradition of great English sanitary appliances we offered to manufacture a bespoke high level cistern for Sarah and Graham. The customising of both baths and cisterns by Catchpole & Rye was a revelation to them. After lengthy discussion (and a few unrepeatable suggestions!) is was decided upon
SWIFT & BEENY SANITARY ENGINEERS
We promptly designed a template for their approval and using traditional hand casting techniques poured a cistern in marine grade aluminium. This went through our workshops was fettled, polished and subsequently brass plated.
And now has pride of place in Rise Hall!
