This year, British bathroom retailer Aston Matthews is celebrating its 200th anniversary. To mark this important milestone, it’s launched the Astonian Original cast-iron bath
OBJECT OF DESIRE
We thought it would be fun to look back through our archives at some of the products we have sold in the past,’ explains Jamie Bebbington, managing director of Aston Matthews. ‘We have boxes of old brochures and adverts, mostly printed in black and white, and rather yellowed with age. It was fascinating browsing through it all – from classic pieces of the 1930s to the brightly coloured suites of the ’70s. But, as we are particularly well known for our cast-iron baths, we decided a bath should be our anniversary mascot.’
Still independent and family run, Aston Matthews has had premises in north London since 1823, where it started out as an ironmongers. On the streets of Islington you can still spot the company’s cast-iron coal-hole plates – circular metal covers set into the pavement, hiding access to coal cellars. And as London’s suburbs expanded, and middle-class homes were built with indoor plumbing and gas water heaters, it also supplied them with cast-iron baths. Until then, fetching water to fill the bath had been a back-breaking task. Perhaps that’s why we still associate a big, freestanding bath with luxury?
King of the baths is surely the roll-top. Its curved top edge adds a decorative flourish, and adds to the comfort of the bather. Comfort was important when selecting the reissued anniversary model, says Jamie: ‘The Astonian Original is big enough for two, as it’s a twin-ended design with the taps in the middle. Nice and deep, with gently sloping support, it is very tempting to lie back and relax, even if you are sitting in a dry bath in the middle of the shop! We
