The Cornish Range, often called a ‘Slab’ (another term for a hotplate), was the most efficient and decorative of Victorian kitchen ranges. Research suggests this design appeared around the 1830s in Redruth and continued in production until just before the Second World War, with the last made by St Just Foundry in Penwith.

In the mid to late Victorian era, almost every Cornish home had one, from the common 30-inch hotplate in working-class cottages to grand Manor House ranges with slabs up to six feet long.

Alongside major foundries like Harvey’s, Copperhouse, Holman’s, and Piran, many smaller foundries thrived in mining towns, often selling complete ranges or castings to local blacksmiths to finish and sell under their own names. In Camborne, for example, John Holman’s large foundry, E. T. Sara’s smaller works, and blacksmith W. Jenkin all produced their own ranges.

A common decorative feature was the Royal Coat of Arms, sometimes appearing twice, while most designs included floral, fruit, and neo-classical motifs. An unusual but frequent motif was a bird with an eagle’s beak and a crest, the meaning of which remains unknown. Foundries also had distinctive design elements—Holman’s of Camborne, for instance, often featured a cluster of rose, thistle, and shamrock below both lower oven corners.

The original range was built from Common London Brick, about 160 in a 30-inch slab, held together with lime mortar, with a few fire bricks for the firebox. It operated in various ways, the most common being that hot smoke traveled over the oven, down the far side, underneath, and into a central brick flue running from the base to the top. About two-thirds up was a damper to control the draught, opened by pulling it out—though not very efficient, as reflected in the Cornish folk song line, “you push the damper in and you pull the damper out and the smoke went up the chimney just the same.” Some had ovens on the left, others on the right, depending on the chimney’s position, and later models included back boilers.

The Cornish Range decline came with the loss of the many town and village foundries tied to 19th-century mining, along with the arrival of modern ranges like the Aga and Rayburn.