Add style and character with a range cooker

A freestanding range cooker will add instant style and character to your kitchen while providing a unique cooking experience

A freestanding range is the ultimate symbol of warmth and comfort. Once seen only in the kitchens of affluent Victorian households or early fine French restaurants, they are now a feature of many homes.

Cast-iron ranges first replaced open fires for cooking and heating in the early 19th century. Some were enormous structures, with boilers for hot water, separate ovens for roasting, stewing and baking and hotplates for cooking or warming food. Though they made cooking easier - several dishes could be prepared at once using much less fuel and labour - in other ways they created more work. The range had to be cleaned and polished daily, flues had to be kept clear of soot and poorly ventilated kitchens became unbearably hot.

Ranges evolved and grew in popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but by the 1950s they were replaced in most homes by electric or gas cookers. In restaurants, however, their durability and size were huge assets and they continued to develop.
There are two basic kinds: traditional, enamelled cast-iron models, many fitted with boilers to heat radiators and provide hot water, or sleek, stainless-steel versions inspired by professional kitchens.

Why choose a range?
Range cookers add style and character to a kitchen and offer a unique cooking experience. Not only are they larger than standard cookers, at 70cm to 1.5 metres wide, but many also have twin ovens, so you are not restricted to a single source of fuel or oven temperature. Whether you choose a traditional or modern version, there are various specifications available. Even Agas have powerful gas burners instead of hotplates and, on larger models, the warming plate can be replaced with a ceramic hob.
There are other, more subtle differences, too. Traditional ranges, such as Agas, are made from cast iron, a brilliant conductor and conserver of heat. The heat transfers steadily to the ovens and hotplates, so the stove is always ready to use and because heat is radiated from the inner surfaces of the oven rather than blasted from a single source, food does not dry out.
Even when not in use, a traditional range has a reassuring, homely presence, and though it can suit compact, contemporary spaces looks best in a country kitchen. Its modern equivalent gives the kitchen a professional edge; the industrial materials, hi-tech design and features suggest a place where, culinarily speaking, anything can happen.

Which fuel supply?
Most traditional ranges use natural or propane gas, oil or electricity. A few use solid fuel which, though creating extra work, is for some people what range cookers are all about. Jocasta Innes describes the reluctant transition from a solid-fuel Rayburn to a gas-fired Aga in Home Time (Ebury Press, £16.99): "I am devoted to my Aga, along with some half a million people in the UK," she writes. "I sometimes feel nostalgic about the blazing presence of solid fuel, the little fire roaring away in his box lined with fire bricks."

Practical considerations
A range is a big investment, so consider carefully how it can be incorporated into your kitchen.

Ensure your floor can withstand the weight - some cast-iron models weigh more than half a tonne.

Think about flue requirements - a traditional oil, gas or solid-fuel model may need a conventional flue or an alternative, such as a fan-powered or balanced flue, to remove combustion gases.

Check that your kitchen units and range are the same height. Some ranges have adjustable legs, but others need a plinth to bring them level with units.

Hire qualified engineers registered with the following organisations to install the range. They do not need to obtain building control approval, which is important for ranges that provide hot water and central heating.

For registered installers in your area, call Corgi (01256 372200; www.corgi-group.com) for gas-fired appliances; the SFA (0845 601 4406; www.solid-fuel.co.uk) for solid-fuel ranges; OFTEC (0845 658 5080; www.oftec.org) for oil-fired ranges; and the NICEIC (020 7564 2323; www.niceic.com) for electricians in your area.
Aga-Rayburn
Classic range cookers that can provide hot water and heating (01952 642000; www.aga-rayburn.co.uk).
Belling
Well-priced, stainless-steel or colour-finish ranges (08704 589961; www.bellingappliances.co.uk).
Godin
French, multipurpose, cast-iron ranges. Look traditional and are easy to install (01268 769444; www. lawton-imports.co.uk).
Lacanche
Stylish, professional French ranges favoured by chefs for their versatility (01202 733011; www.lacanche.co.uk)
La Cornue
French traditional or modern ranges (020 7224 3774; www.lacornue.com).
The Range Cooker Company
Several styles of cookers and accessories from Britannia, plus the traditional Stanley range (01253 471111; www.rangecooker.co.uk)
Smeg
State-of-the-art ranges ideal for modern kitchens (08709 909907; www.smeguk.com).
Stoves
Ranges in modern and traditional styles (08704 449919; www.stoves.co.uk).
Viking
Freestanding and high performing (01787 224921; www.vikingrange.com).
Westahl
French modular range (01202 733011; www.westahl.co.uk).

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