A Brief History of the Electric Kettle

In this short guide I introduce some the landmarks in the history of the kettle. I wrote it about 20 years ago, and I'm sure I can vastly improve on it, but in the meantime, I will be sharing it pretty much as I wrote it.

Tea was introduced to England in the mid 17th century, but it was not until the late 1850s that consumption of tea equalled that of coffee. The great tea shipping companies competed fiercely with each other to bring tea to the auction houses in London, first with tall ships, including that most famous of clippers, the Cutty Sark, whose last cargo of tea was carried in 1877. Finally, during the 1870s, the shipping companies began to import tea with steam ships.

By the 1890's average annual consumption of tea in Britain was 10lb per person. During the late 19th century gas was the fuel of choice for homes throughout the UK, but slowly electricity began to gain popularity and a mania for mechanisation surfaced. Products emerged to replace the role of a servant in every room of the house, and many were overtly marketed as tools which would ease a housewife's drudgery. Fireside and stove-top kettles were already well established kitchen appliances, so it took only a small leap of imagination to inspire the evolution of the electric kettle.

1891 Crompton and Co

I believe the first electric kettle was manufactured by Crompton & Co. in 1891, using the electrical heat radiator concept Crompton himself had devised earlier. Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton, C.B., F.R.S., was born in Thirsk on 31 May 1845 and was educated at Harrow. He was a pioneer in the development of the electrical manufacturing and electricity supply industries and founded the firm bearing his name. He was the first important British manufacturer of generators and was responsible for many improvements in generator design. Crompton & Co. Ltd, of London, was established by Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton (1845-1940), one of the first men to bring electric street lighting and a public electricity supply to London. Crompton was the first major British manufacturers of electricity generators and domestic cookers, and continued in business until the 1960s, when it was taken over by Hawker Siddley.

1907 - the Electric Copper Kettle

The model illustrated here was available from the Army and Navy Stores catalogue in 1907.

As today, early kettles were used in the kitchen, and were seen as a compact and invaluable adjunct to the cooker. Most kettles of the 1920s and 1930s were made from copper like their stove top predecessors, but some offered nickel or silver plated finishes. A few were made from vitreous enamel and aluminium (mainly in the 1930's).

At first the Victorians could not detach themselves from the concept of heating the water over a burning fire, or perhaps from their understandable fear of mixing water and electricity, so almost all of the earliest models featured a separate compartment for the element with a water compartment above it. These kettles were almost indistinguishable from stove top models, except for the presence of a seam dividing the two compartments and a socket opposite the spout.

1908 - Peter Behrens

Elsewhere in Europe, kettle designs were developing new life. In 1908 the German designer Peter Behrens, created this wonderful electric kettle for AEG (Germany). His designs were reknowned for their handmade appearance, and he specialised in rounded and octagonal shapes.

1919 - improvements to a whistling kettle

Patent application 152461 in 1919 by Cyril Aubrey Lynch and William Humphrey Webster of York introduced improvements to the whistling mechanism in a non-electric kettle.

1919 - the Hidden Element

By now designers were wrestling with challenges arising from using a submerged element in the main body of the kettle. rather than placing the element in a separate compartment. For example, in patent application 138039 dated August 27th 1919 made by Allen Samuel Ford, a commercial traveller from Taunton, proposed a means of keeping an element submerged so that it would not burn out when the kettle was emptied. Another patent, number 143020, tackled the same problem. It was applied for on May 6th 1919 by Electrical Engineers Duncan Murray White and William Pettet Brooks.

From the 1920's onwards a few companies, emboldened by the success enjoyed by a growing range of electric appliances, attempted to market several electric versions of the saucepan. The kettle, however, was more practical, compact and user friendly, and by the end of the 1930's electric saucepans had disappeared.

1920 - the first Jug Kettle?

I tried to identify the first jug shaped kettle to be marketed in the UK. G H Williamson and Sons of the Providence Works in Worcester applied for the first patent on a spout through which the kettle could be filled on December 7th 1920. The large spout opening also multitasked as a place to store a detachable handle. The patent number is 170219.

Ediswan

The model above is an Ediswan, the trade name of the Edison and Swan United Electric Light Company, Ltd, which was formed when the two companies merged in 1883. Famous mainly for their bulbs and tubes, Ediswan also made complete appliances including light fittings and radios.

Elexcel Xcel

The model above is the Xcel model 4240 from Elexcel Ltd, manufactured at the Victor Works in Liverpool. This kettle is in silver plated copper with an unplated copper lid. The handle and knob are in turned wood and the feet are bakelite.

1920s - Premier

Premier kettles were manufactured in Birmingham from the mid 1920s to the late 1930s. They all featured separate compartments for the water and the element. The earliest models had ceramic or copper feet.

The example above is the Premier model 2655, serial number P56167. It has a polished copper finish and a turned wood handle. The knob is bakelite and the feet are black enamelled ceramic. It features the safety cut-out mechanism and a reset button.

The model above is the Premier Quickset, model 2672, (illustration from the former "Simply Switch On" website). It featured a safety cut-out mechanism, a replaceable fuse (on some models Swan used the space inside the handle to hide a spare fuse), and a reset button, as patented in 1930. Electrical Review ran articles on the model in 1925 and 1926. It was available from the 1926 Harrod's catalogue. Later models were available with chrome plating. This example is in nickel plated copper with a turned wood handle, lid knob and feet, all of which are painted black.

1922 - Swan

Competition amongst manufacturers to achieve more rapid boiling times led to placing the element in a sheathed metal tube inside the water compartment. In 1922 Swan marketed the first kettle of this new design.

1923 - the immersed heating resistor

In 1923 Arthur L Large, from Birmingham, invented the immersed heating resistor.

1924 - The Safety Cut-Out

In 1924 the British Electric Transformer Company Ltd and Ernest Ellwood applied for a patent on a cut out device which would prevent damage to the kettle if it was accidentally operated when empty. Similar mechanisms were patented by Premier, Hotpoint (patent 310581, applied 1928) and Swan, amongst others.

1930 - Hotpoint

The example above is a Hotpoint, (illustration from the former "Simply Switch On" website). This is a chrome plated, large lidded version of Hotpoint's standard pre-war kettle. The handle, lid and feet are of turned wood, painted black. It features a patented boil-dry connector eject device in the base. There are separate compartments for the water and the twin flat plate element. Other versions included a small lidded model and large capacity family model with an infill behind the handle, and finishes in polished copper or nickel plate. Electrical Review carried an entry on this model in 1930.

1935 - Swan C223

The later example above, the Swan C223, was manufactured in Birmingham in 1935. It featured a fused safety ejector for which a patent was applied in 1936. This model was available in various capacities, and could be bought in polished copper, nickel plated, and later chrome plated finishes. This copper bodied model is marked: "BULPITT & SONS Ltd. SWAN BRAND, Serial No. 3X 21809. The Property of The Battersea Borough Council, No. 7831. Made in Birmingham."

The model illustrated above is the later Swan C223a. Note the simple, rectangular profile on the less curvy handle design.

1933 - The Hawkins Supreme

The Hawkins Supreme, (illustration above from the former Simply Switch On website), was produced in Hastings. Two patent applications were made for this unusual design in 1933. The finish is mottled grey vitreous stove enamel finish, the handle is covered in grey raffia, and it has large black spherical phenol plastic feet. This model was available in several capacities.

General Electric Company

This large General Electric Company model is No. D5235. It has a copper body with a brass base. The base is marked with the Catalogue No. D5235 together with the words Made in England and acronym GEC.

Late 1930s - Chrome plated finishes

Chrome plated finishes were introduced in the late 1930's and became standard by the mid 1940's.

1939-1945 - the Swan C233

During World War II many appliance manufacturers were forced to adapt or abandon their output. At this time a new version of the Swan C233 was introduced. It included a new spout profile and a simpler handle with a black phenol plastic grip. During the war Swan also produced this utility kettle (illustration from the former Simply Switch On website), and Hawkins introduced a ceramic model to comply with restrictions on the use of metal.

1940s - the end of the separate element compartment

By the 1940s, only a few manufacturers were clinging to the concept of putting the element in a separate compartment below the water compartment. This design finally died out in the mid 1940's.

1945 - HMV Bentinck

This groundbreaking kettle design, (illustration from the former Simply Switch On website), was the KSDL3 from HMV Bentinck of Hayes, Middlesex. It was conceived during the war years but the patent and design were not registered until 1944, and the kettle was probably not manufactured until after the war in 1945.
The designer may have been Christian Barman who was responsible for HMV's irons. The body was made in chrome plated copper, and the handle in black phenol plastic. The large curved handle was intended for ergonomic comfort, and it was also a functional guard against rising steam. This kettle was manufactured with several size options until the late 1950's.

1950s - HMV Model KJ3

An early electric contender for the position of the first electric Jug Kettle is this 1950's HMV Model KJ3 kettle, manufactured by Maddox. The base is printed: "Maddox - Reg. Design No. 843400 - Made In England". "HMV" is printed on a metal panel on the handle and inside the lid a metal tag gives the model number and the serial number, which for this example is CA51049.

1956 - Russell Hobbs K1

The final mention must go to the K1, the first fully automatic kettle, introduced by Russell Hobbs in 1956. When the kettle boiled, a jet of steam was directed through a slot in the lid at a bimetallic strip to cut the power supply and release the on/off push switch. This chrome plated copper kettle was manufactured in Croydon. It featured a curved spout, a black phenol plastic handle and switch with its connector housing, and an oval two-pin socket with earthing rim.

1970s - the plastic jug kettle

The chrome kettle was not really challenged until the invention of the plastic jug kettle during the 1970's, which is still going strong today.

1990s - back to the hidden element

By the 1990's, the public were growing tired of the unsightly appearance of limescale caked around the element, and they were eager for designs incorporating a hidden element. This was heralded as a breakthrough! Of course it wasn't a breakthrough at all - it was the way all kettles were originally made.

2020s - the Smart Kettle

I've written a separate article on recent innovations in the world of kettles. The Alexa Smart Kettle is probably the best modern alternative to the teasmade. Swan even features it on the teasmade category of their shop! To buy one on Amazon click the image below. If you prefer, you can buy the Alexa Smart Kettle direct from Swan.