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Really pleased to have found this beautiful Hotwell Basket thermos set in an antiques place near Taunton in Somerset.
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Using donations given by their lovely visitors, this gorgeous basket will now have a new home close by in the museum at Coates English Willow on the Somerset Levels. At nearly 2ft high, this basket shows the beauty of English techniques including a tied slath base and lid. Inside, a well padded red plush lining holds a rather lovely copper thermos. I can just imagine that a hundred or more years ago this thermos set would have been a welcome sign of refreshments for those at a country estate shoot on a cold winters day.
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My museum find story continues... The basket I picked up for the museum at Coates English Willow on the Somerset Levels has an amazing tale. Coates already have what is known as a Hotwell Basket that holds a zinc container and know it’s history well (see photos!) I’ve now been able to add the more ‘well to do’ copper version to their collection.
Probably Victorian, and patented (a rare thing for a basket to be), these beautiful baskets were made just 17 miles from Coates and could have been made by a blind basketmaker.
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What I love is the basket’s advertisement, “This ingenious basket with Metal Container is constructed on a special principle by which the heat of any liquid placed in it is retained for many hours. For instance, boiling water placed in the basket overnight will be sufficiently hot next morning for a bath. We have received many letters from customers expressing satisfaction and placing repeat orders. Invaluable for the country-house or bungalow.” Not sure my copper container of 1 1/2 gallons (7 litres) capacity would have filled a bath and priced at 38/6 this is equivalent in 1900 to about £250 today!
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So I was also not sure that bungalow dwellers could have afforded it....However have just found out that Victorian bungalows were the building type of choice for the aspiring upper middle class seeking an affordable 2nd home and were a symbol of Bohemianism, championed by among others by Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti!
Goodness knows what life the Hotwell Basket that I found could have led, but I’m so glad that it will be now looked after and cherished in the place where it belongs.
Really pleased to have found this beautiful Hotwell Basket thermos set in an antiques place near Taunton in Somerset.
Using donations given by their lovely visitors, this gorgeous basket will now have a new home close by in the museum at Coates English Willow on the Somerset Levels. At nearly 2ft high, this basket shows the beauty of English techniques including a tied slath base and lid. Inside, a well padded red plush lining holds a rather lovely copper thermos. I can just imagine that a hundred or more years ago this thermos set would have been a welcome sign of refreshments for those at a country estate shoot on a cold winters day.
My museum find story continues... The basket I picked up for the museum at Coates English Willow on the Somerset Levels has an amazing tale. Coates already have what is known as a Hotwell Basket that holds a zinc container and know it’s history well (see photos!) I’ve now been able to add the more ‘well to do’ copper version to their collection. Probably Victorian, and patented (a rare thing for a basket to be), these beautiful baskets were made just 17 miles from Coates and could have been made by a blind basketmaker.
What I love is the basket’s advertisement, “This ingenious basket with Metal Container is constructed on a special principle by which the heat of any liquid placed in it is retained for many hours. For instance, boiling water placed in the basket overnight will be sufficiently hot next morning for a bath. We have received many letters from customers expressing satisfaction and placing repeat orders. Invaluable for the country-house or bungalow.” Not sure my copper container of 1 1/2 gallons (7 litres) capacity would have filled a bath and priced at 38/6 this is equivalent in 1900 to about £250 today!
So I was also not sure that bungalow dwellers could have afforded it....However have just found out that Victorian bungalows were the building type of choice for the aspiring upper middle class seeking an affordable 2nd home and were a symbol of Bohemianism, championed by among others by Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti! Goodness knows what life the Hotwell Basket that I found could have led, but I’m so glad that it will be now looked after and cherished in the place where it belongs.