Types of Kitchens

Whilst most of us associate the history of the British kitchen with those that we visit on display in large historic houses or dramatised in period dramas on television. There are many and varied kitchens to be considered. Such as those that can be distinguished between the wealthy and poor, the urban and rural kitchen as well as the armed service kitchens, the Hospital kitchen, public kitchens to serve the poor and the Workhouse kitchens as well as the commercial kitchens in restaurants, factory canteens and other catering establishments. 

The World War One German Prisoner of War camps in Britain  reveal interesting photographic archives, such as those documented at Alexandra Palace, London, some of which are available to view from the collections at the Imperial War Museum, like this photograph from their Air Ministry Collection.

The kitchen at Alexandra Palace internment camp, Imperial War Museum http://www.cabinetwarrooms.org.uk/collections/item/object/205222753)

 

These often forgotten camps; the main ones of which were located at Donnington Hall, Alexandra Palace, Dorchester, Handforth, Lofthouse Park and Eastcote are captured in comprehensive images in the 1916 'German Prisoners in Great Britain',published by Tillotson & Son Ltd.

The British Government's 1824 publication detailing regulations of Barracks, lists the contents of the Officers' Mess Room kitchen including:

One range

One fender

One shovel

One poker

One jack

Two spits

One iron or copper boiler

Basically the bare minimum was available to roast or boil food over an open range.

The Foundling Hospital was a Children's home for unwanted or deserted children, established in 1741. Now a Museum whose collections tell the story of the original Foundling Hospital.  http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/

A report for the Society For Bettering The Condition And Increasing The Comforts Of The Poor details the Foundling kitchen and its fittings that were modified in 1796 by Count Rumford; an Anglo-American Physicist and Inventor, who worked prolifically in the field of kitchen innovation. Best known for the Rumford Fireplace. The kitchen was 17 x 21 feet with two large Rumford iron boilers divided into economic double boilers heated by one small fire and a 5 foot 'roasting machine'. The kitchen at the Foundling became a benchmark for other public industrial kitchens for their ability to remain productive, safe, healthy and economical.