Still chilling after more than 80 YEARS: Couple’s Electrolux fridge they bought for £49 is believed to be oldest in Britain after surviving World War II AND the recent heatwave
- Fridge built by Electrolux in 1930s was bought by the couple’s family in 1949
- They paid £49 – thought to be the equivalent of around £1800 in today’s money
- Pair in their 70s, from Gloucestershire, have relied on appliance during heatwave
- Do YOU have older household gadgets still in use? [email protected]
An elderly couple are believed to be the owners of Britain’s oldest working fridge which is still chilling food after more than 80 years.
The pair in their 70s from Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, have even been relying on the appliance during the recent heatwave which saw their newer fridge-freezer need replacing.
The fridge was built by Electrolux in the 1930s and was bought by the couple’s family in 1949.
They paid £49 for the appliance – thought to be the equivalent of around £1800 in today’s money.
It was previously thought that Britain’s oldest working fridge was 58-year-old and was owned by retired piano teacher Doris Stogdale in Oxford.
But this chilling device, aged at least 82 years old, has laid a fresh claim to the title.
The pair in their 70s from Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, have even been relying on the appliance during the recent heatwave which saw their newer fridge-freezer need replacing
The fridge has a clipped metal latch for opening but is limited in space – unable to hold more than ‘two coke bottles stacked upon one another’.
The owners did not want to be named but the discovery was shared on Facebook by domestic appliances sales company John Kerry & Sons.
Adam Kerry, a salesman at the company, said they came across the fridge after visiting the couple’s house to replace their fridge-freezer, which had broken due to the recent heatwave.
The 24-year-old said: ‘They were relying on it while their fridge and freezer were broken, probably due to the heat.
‘The couple’s parents bought it second hand in 1930 something for £49. That’s about £1800 in today’s money.
‘It doesn’t keep things chilled as you might expect today. It doesn’t have the same energy efficiency.
The fridge was built by Electrolux in the 1930s and was bought by the couple’s family in 1949
They paid £49 for the appliance – thought to be the equivalent of around £1800 in today’s money
‘The fridge is tiny. You couldn’t buy anything that size today. It’s definitely not big enough for the weekly shop. You couldn’t fit two coke bottles stacked on one another in there.’
Kerry added that the fridge had survived for eight decades because ‘they just don’t make them like that anymore’.
‘The quality that’s put into it is much better. You could probably create a fridge today that would last that long but no one would want to pay that much.’
Do YOU have older household gadgets still in use? Email: [email protected]
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