Oldest kitchen?

Grameretto, perfect for student bedsits and non-catering hotels.

I couldn't find any doors the right size! Lesley Our old pine ones were probably old stock measured in imperial. Anyway it was the MDF carcasses which disintegrated, not the wooden doors. My lovely worktops were discontinued soon after I bought mine in 1980, I have since had a wall cupboard moved and a new beech worktop which is okay. Just making do.

Our DC get wonderful new kitchens but people like our comfortable tired, old and cluttered kitchen , at least they say they do.

Has anyone thought of just having new doors and worktops fitted, I’ve been thinking about this as you don’t even have to empty your cupboards, haven't had a quote yet though

My kitchen was installed in 1982. I have always looked after it and even with 2 children passing through it on tricycles is still ok. My husband said it could be replaced but this one is probably better built so what’s the point, it does it’s job and leaves the money in the bank.

most sinks where fashioned out of a single piece of stone, the Belfast sinks didn’t become popular until after Victorian times

That's interesting, JuliaM. I thought the old sink in our cellar was a Belfast, but I've just been down to look at it properly and it could well have been made from a single piece of stone. The sides and bottom are very thick and it's a terracotta colour. It's certainly stood the test of time, anyway!

My little '50's pantry has a pull out enamelled worktop and 3 mouseproof metal drawers as well as cupboard space, including a ventilated larder. However I am about to buy a mini "kitchen in a cupboard" for our guest room. I bet it won't last nearly as long. It comes complete with a fridge/freezer, a combi microwave oven, a ceramic hob and a sink. You can even get dishwashers built in.
So will this be the newest kitchen?
elfinkitchens.co.uk/product/cupboard-kitchen/

Sarahellenwhitby, I guess there’s not much to go wrong on an Aga! I hope yours keeps on keeping on.

SueDonim
My present home has an Aga which was installed by the previous owner in 1983.It is oil fired and serviced on a regular basis and the words of the engineer are 'they don't make them like this any more' so am not surprised to know there may be even more older veterans such as the one you mentioned.

My kitchen is fairly new, only being about a year old. It's in a cosy country style which I like very much.
However, you can't beat those nice old-fashioned gas cookers with an eye level grill and I often wish I still had the one which was in my previous house.

Nanny41 my MIL had one of those with the pull down door but it must have been from the 50s or even earlier; it had a large double cupboard underneath too.
It was very useful in a tiny kitchen without fitted cupboards or worktops.

Some of your comments reminded me of Trigger (Only Fools and Horses) saying;

'This old broom's had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in it's time.'

When we demolished our (40 year old) kitchen, I found two large bolts apparently holding up the row of cupboards suspended over a breakfast bar.

I got a heavy duty pipe wrench to undo them - no need, they weren't attached to the beam above, just went through the ceiling next to it. How the whole lot had stayed up I'll never know!

My gran and grandad brought their house in 1948/9 and when my gran died two years ago it was still the original kitchen units. She had updated the white goods when necessary and had new work surfaces in the 80’s but the cupboards were still the original ones. So high up to the ceiling you needed high ladders to reach the top shelf and a old pull system ceiling clothes rack.
So around 60 years old.

Had my kitchen re-done last August. Before that it was the original we jumbled together in 1975. Pluses and minuses I might add.

Before my husband retired, he worked as a joiner for over 50years, and built and fitted many kitchens himself including some that were in Grade 1 listed buildings, where preservation rather than total replacement were very important. He always worked in solid timber, not a piece of plywood or MDF in sight, and most sinks where fashioned out of a single piece of stone, the Belfast sinks didn’t become popular until after Victorian times, and the most important kitchen assest was the large solid wood cooks table, the main work surface of the time. How things have changed, when we went shopping for our new kitchen, most suppliers didn’t even offer a solid timber framed kitchen, never mind one free from ply or MDF! Some where MDF and nothing else, built for show and not to last, so more profit for the kitchen suppliers of the future. We ended up going to a specialist trade supplier to buy our new kitchen, it’s solid timber framed, panels and doors. Only the shelving and backings are plywood, and it is paintable if ever we decided on a colour change in the future.
The problem with MDF is that it relays on a thin plastic foil wrap to repel moisture. Should that wrap become damaged in anyway, either by wear and tear or by the use of harsh cleaning chemicals, paint etc, then moisture can penetrate into the MDF and cause distortion and swelling, resulting in loss of strength. They are simply not built to last like the old kitchens where.

Sorry, 'is less' not 'less less'!

There is an amazing company called 'Kitchen Magic' which will come and transform your kitchen for the fraction of the price of a new one by replacing doors, sides, plinths and worktops. They will also build in new integrated appliances if you want it done. Their fitters are brilliant (we have had them back twice) and the disruption less less than that of a proper refit. Our whole kitchen took a week from start to finish. They also built us a bespoke cupboard to hide the boiler. Google them. They have a more limited range of kitchens than most but that keeps the cost down and you can have any colour and any finish you want.

Interesting subject today,I must have the oldest kitchen, took over from my Cousin a few years ago the house was built in the early seventies,and I love it,we have changed the kitchen quite a bit, but still have the original sink with the taps, which my Husband hates, but replacing them would mean taking the whole unit away and the size doesnt fit the metric system so they are here to stay, kitchen quite modern now.We did take out one of those kitchen cupboards everyone had in the sixties, the one with cupboards above, a shelf which opened out as a bread board etc,they were very modern and practical in the sixties!

Had lived in pre war houses until 76 when moved to a new build. Put up with the kitchen for 7 years saving like fury for a new one. The cupboards on the 76 one were minuscule, could hardy get a couple of tins in or a large dinner plate yet it was 'state of the art' at the time. New one in 83 was fantastic by comparison space wise. New house again 2009 and again very fashionable to look at but very limited space. Did manage to add to and redesign to get enough space. DS moved into new build 2019 and he found he had to add to units. The purpose of a kitchen has drastically changed, being used as an eating and sitting area as well as the engine of the home which I think results in them being changed so often.

Witzend your old kitchen style is probably in the very expensive architectural magazines right now as the latest and dearest innovative design.

My dad still has the same kitchen he had when I moved out in 1973 and I m now nearly 63.... same old Formica tops, he’s had a new fridge and cooker ? same sink and drawers that were there when I was a child!

Just 10 or 15 years left?

DH always says 'that's good for 20 years yet'

He is good at repairs, though.

Your daughter’s kitchen sounds amazing, Coolgran.

We still have a Belfast sink in the cellar. It must be 170 years old.

Your husband sounds like mine aprilrose Anything I want to update he tells me has a “good ten or fifteen years left”

That sounds like him. I didnt realise there were two cast from the same mould around. But nonetheless.

That said, I would love a new kitchen. On my wish list for some future point.

Not my kitchen but my daughter's.
The house is over 100 years old and still has the original joiner built kitchen cupboards which are painted. The original sink is Belfast sink style but is really big and deep and in excellent condition. Two low down drawers are metal lined with air vents to the outside, presumably to keep veg cool (she lives in a hot country). They love it and have no intention of replacing it.
She does have a very modern double width American fridge freezer and a free standing cooker with two normal sized ovens side by side and a 6 ring hob.