Welcome to our shop, Thakeham Furniture in Petworth, West Sussex, UK.
Established in 1989, a small family firm of antique dealers specialising in fine English antique furniture.

18th and 19th century antique furniture with an emphasis on originality, good colour and patina.

Georgian Plate Warmers

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Harriet Chavasse

Nothing beats having your favourite dish served up on a lovely warm plate. This desire for a hot plate is nothing new to British diners, and there are artefacts from the 18^th and 19^th centuries that suggest we were once even more preoccupied by a ‘hot plate’.

And this makes sense if we consider how cold British houses could be for much of the year. Until the later 20th century rooms were often poorly heated, even in wealthy homes. Households with servants urged their staff to hurry from kitchen to dining room so food could be served hot, or at least warm, on heated plates. Hot food was appetising and proof of a well-run home too.

[caption id="attachment_795" align="alignleft" width="161"] Regency Mahogany Pedestals[/caption]

The Victorians even had spoon warmers; a decorative container filled with hot water to keep serving spoons and sauce ladles warm.

Plate warmers were commonplace in the kitchen where they would be a simple construction from wood or metal. However, when placed in the dining room, where they could be seen by the guests, they were much fancier affairs. They would often be found in the drawer of a sideboard, or the inside of a pedestal. These fine quality Regency mahogany pedestals would have looked very grand in the dining room; one is lined with tin; hot coals would be placed in the bottom, and the door shut, allowing the plates to be heated.

[caption id="attachment_796" align="alignright" width="200"] Georgian Fireside Plate Warmer[/caption]

Through the doors at Thakeham Furniture this week, we have this fabulous and extremely rare George III fireside plate warmer. A fantastic piece, in very good original condition, lined with tin on the inside, which would have faced the fire and had the plates placed on it. The original swan neck carrying handles meant it could easily be put in place by the fire, and taken away once the plates were at the desired temperature. It is a clever piece of design which would have looked attractive in the dining room and successfully heated plates without blocking too much heat from the fire and thus still keeping the dining room nice and warm!

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We stock fine quality antique furniture from the 18th century & 19th century. We sell traditional Georgian furniture, Regency furniture, Victorian furniture and Edwardian furniture. Browse our online antique furniture store or come and visit our large friendly showrooms to view a fine collection of rare and important items along with practical and useful pieces. We have a big range of furniture including pieces for formal settings to more country house antiques, through to individual pieces to fit in with decorative interiors.

Thakeham Furniture was established by Tim and Belinda Chavasse in 1989, prior to which we were both trained and worked as antique restorers. We still have our own antiques workshop on the premises at Petworth, and all pieces are thoroughly checked over before being offered for sale in the showroom. Thakeham Furniture are members of LAPADA [The London and Provincial Antique Dealers Association], so you can purchase with confidence, as we follow a strict code of practise. Petworth has become, in recent years, the biggest antiques town in the South of England. It is a small, pretty market town boasting over thirty antique shops, all within easy walking distance. Petworth is only one hour from London.

We sell Dining room furniture, including antique dining tables and sets of antique dining chairs, for the living room, we stock sofas and armchairs, many useful small antique lamp tables, also perhaps for the office or study we supply antique desks and antique mahogany bookcases. For upstairs amongst our varied stock we have pairs of small washstands or commodes perfect as antique bedside tables or cupboards, or larger items such as Georgian mahogany chest of drawers of antique wardrobes. You will also find in our shop, antique clocks, mirrors and decorative items. In addition to mahogany antique furniture we also have rosewood antique furniture, satinwood antique furniture, and people looking for a range of antique country furniture will find antique oak furniture, walnut and fruitwood.