Dr Chris Roberts 1941-2013

SPONSOR ME PLEASE IN ST MICHAEL’S HOSPICE WHEELIE BIG CYCLE

I am planning to do a 60 mile sponsored cycle on 21st July, raising money for St Michael’s hospice, near Hereford, in memory of my brother-in-law, Dr Chris Roberts who died on 18th May 2013.

He was one of those really special people, a gentleman, whose first thoughts were always for others. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. I promised him I would raise some money for the hospice who had cared for him so well, both as a day patient and in the days up to his end. Many people will know Chris as he was a doctor at Sarum House, Hereford for over 30 years. If he was your GP, then you were lucky!

I had never been in a hospice until last week. What a wonderful place it was. They made his passing dignified and peaceful and allowed all the family to be at his bedside. We were given cups of tea and made most welcome by the lovely staff and volunteers. He had also been cared for as a day patient which had been very helpful in helping him come to terms with his terrible illness. My sister has also been grateful for the assistance provided by the hospice. Massages, support groups and counselling are all part of the help they provide.

St Michael’s Hospice provides quality, individualised care to patients who have progressive, life-limiting illnesses and supports their carers and families. It will cost £4.2 million to run the Hospice this year and we need to raise almost £4 million of that amount.

Please give generously in memory of Chris, or anyone you know who has been in the care of a hospice.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Please click the link below.

http://www.justgiving.com/Vicki-Bale

London Doctors Knocker in Brass and Nickel

NEW DOOR KNOCKER – LONDON DOCTOR’S KNOCKER

Here is a new Doctors Knocker in the range. It is a magnificent door knocker which would grace any traditional panelled door.

The Doctor’s knocker is a Georgian style and we have several variants in the range. The Doctor’s Knocker is so called as it was used to identify the Doctor’s house. These knockers have a slim profile, so sit beautifully on panelled doors.

This is a quality item, made in England to the highest standards of manufacture. The knocker weighs in at over a kilo, so this is a chunky and substantial door knocker. The styling has the classic features of the curved top and bottom. This one is distinguished by the large decorative backplates with a 60mm diameter, so create a real impression on the door. We offer two finishes on-line, unlacquered brass and polished nickel and can do others on request. Contact us for details.

If you are looking for other items of door furniture to complete your front door, then you could consider a Letter Plate Original and perhaps a pair of Harley door knobs or centre knob. We have a wide range to choose from including escutcheons, door bells and door knobs.

It’s a brilliant and beautiful item!

Pictured below are from left, London Doctor’s Knocker Brass and Nickel, London Doctor’s Knocker in Nickel side view, London Doctor’s Knocker in Brass.

The Listed Property Owners Club

LISTED PROPERTY OWNERS CLUB

The Listed Property Owners Club is an excellent organisation for owners of listed properties and is also ideal for anyone doing up an old property.

They provide practical information on property maintenance, guidance on grants, loans, VAT, insurance etc and also act as a pressure group to change views and laws that affect ownership.

The clubs magazine, Listed Heritage, is published in full colour every other month. Content includes examples of conversions and restoration projects, members letters, advice and information. There is a suppliers directory to help you find the specialist suppliers you made need to complete your project, from Architects to Surveyors, from Dry Rot Specialists to Roofing Specialist, from door and window makers to stonemasons. All suppliers in the directory have to supply two references and have traded for more than two years.  In the magazine they also have featured events which may of interest to readers, such as training courses, lectures and fairs. Listed Heritage is the insider’s guide to listed property ownership.

A telephone helpline is at your disposal when you need help to discuss problems that you meet, particularly in the planning stages of a project. They can also help you to understand the VAT implications.

The Listed Property Show which is held every year at London’s Olympia brings together the industry’s best. Find experts on listed property regulations, have a chat with conservation officers and meet with architects and planners. You can also track down that specialist builder or supplier of bathrooms, doors, paints, flooring and more.

For more information, please take a look at their website Listed Property Owners Club or call 01795 844939

We hope you find this article useful and that it has pointed you in the right direction for a huge bank of information and resources. If it is door furniture, window furniture or bathroom accessories that you need help with, we will hopefully be able to offer the advice and right products for your renovation.

Brass Monkey Tail Casement Fastener and Casement Stay

WINDOW FURNITURE – NEW BRASS MONKEY TAIL CASEMENT FASTENER AND CASEMENT STAY

The Monkey Tail design on window fittings is a traditional and popular one. We currently offer a range of monkey tail window furniture in black iron and pewter patina. Here we introduce our new range in brass.

We offer a Monkey Tail casement fastener which can be supplied with a hook or mortise plate, according to the requirements of your windows. The fastener design is non locking and is quite square in section rather than rounded. It is a reversible fastener, so will work as a left hand or right hand position. The casement stay is offered in a 250mm length. This comes with four hole positions and two fixing plates. These are beautifully cast in England, in solid brass. The finish is polished but unlacquered. They will be made to order and take about four weeks to supply.

If Monkey Tail is not for you, we can also offer other designs, Bulb, Spoon, Reeded and Art Deco.

If unlacquered brass is not for you we can do other finishes including, polished nickel, polished chrome, satin nickel, satin chrome and bronze. Please contact us for details.

Pictured below are two shots of the brass casement fastener and one of the casement stay.

Bathroom Turn and Release new in Iron and Pewter

BATHROOM LOCKS – NEW BATHROOM TURN AND RELEASES

If you need an emergency release on a bathroom door, look no further than one of these little items. If you have children or elderly folks using your bathrooms, for safety you may want to be able to unlock the door from the hall or landing side.

These turn and releases come in two parts. On the front of the door, landing or hall side, you have the release part and on the inside you have the turning part. These connect with a 5mm bar which goes through a deadbolt mechanism (sold separately). From the inside you just turn to lock. From the outside you would release the lock using a coin or screwdriver.

We have just introduced this popular and handy item into our ranges of iron door furniture and pewter patina door furniture. The design has a diamond backplate and an oval shaped turning knob. These would typically be used where you have mortise door knobs. If you prefer a door handle, we do sell selected handles with the turn and release set into the backplate, ie not as a separate item.

Our range of bathroom turn and releases now includes brass, polished nickel, iron and pewter  finishes. We also have a lovely Art Deco bathroom turn and release which matches our range of Art Deco door furniture.

Please click on the links in this posting to view the items on our website.

Pictured below are, from left:

Pewter Turn and Release, Iron Turn and Release, Bathroom Deadbolt

Locking Window Fastener Shepherd's Crook in pewter patina finish

WINDOW FURNITURE – NEW SHEPHERD’S CROOK RANGE

At last, we can bring you a range of casement window furniture the Shepherd’s Crook Design. We have had this design in the range for some while, but only in Pewter patina and only in an espagnolette fastener and a casement stay. Over time we have has many requests for this design to be extended into more fastener options in pewter and for the range to be made in iron – so here it is!

In Pewter patina we have introduced the basic fastener and a locking window fastener. In iron wax finish, we have introduced the Casement stay in 3 sizes, a basic fastener and a locking window fastener. There is also an espagnolette fastener available, (contact us for this item).

If this design is not for you, take a look at our popular monkey tail and pear drop variants.

Click on the links in the text to view the products on-line.

Pictured from left: Window Fastener in iron and pewter, Casement stay Iron, Locking Window Fastener in iron and pewter.

Drawer Handles - Pewter Smooth Finish

PEWTER DRAWER HANDLES – NEW LINES

We are working hard to improve our range of drawer handles. There will be lots more cupboard knobs, cabinet handles and pull handles appearing on our website over the next few weeks. New ranges coming are in Pewter, Polished nickel and unlacquered brass. This will give our customers a wide choice of finishes and designs when looking to give cupboards, cabinets and drawers a lift and new look. If you are re-doing a kitchen, take a look at us, we offer porcelain, glass, pewter, iron, wood, nickel and brass cupboard knobs and handles. Lots of styles and lots of finishes!

In this posting we are looking at the new drawer handles in the pewter smooth finish. Items are made in iron and then lacquered to achieve the aged pewter look. This is an attractive finish which looks excellent on painted and wooden surfaces. The colour is easy to live with and is easy to co-ordinate with other furnishings. Only for inside use.

We have three styles in the new drawer pull, Shawbury and Acton which have a ribbed effect on the front of the pull. The Shawbury is a bit more decorative with a little cap on the top. If you like your pulls plain, the Shell design maybe the one for you, with angled edges. It is part of the Shell range which includes two sizes in D pull handles. These all retail at a great price of £11 + vat (£13.30) each. (correct at 29/3/13). If these styles do not suit we also have plain desk drawer pulls in several sizes in our Nickel and Brass ranges.

These drawer pulls are a traditional style where you put your fingers up inside the curved part and then pull to open the drawer. These were often found on old cabinets and desks and the inspiration for these has come from period originals.

Click on the links in the article to go to the item on our website.

Please see pictured below from left:

Shawbury Drawer Pull, Acton Drawer Pull and Shell drawer pull

PRIORS ON FACEBOOK

We are now on Facebook and have a growing our community of followers.

On our Facebook page you will find updates on new lines and promotions and some interesting features about selected items from our ranges.

Our recent photo albums include, green glass door and cupboard knobs, Art Deco window fittings and wooden door knobs in solid ebony. There are features on door knockers, oak hooks and beehive door knobs, Lion lock covers and loo roll holders. We try to add something new every week, to give you a new slant on door furniture, window furniture and bathroom accessories.

It is a great way to keep up with what we are up to. If you are a Facebook member, please follow us by clicking here.

Brass Rim Mortise Door Knobs in 2 sizes

SELECTING THE RIGHT SIZE DOOR KNOBS

Selecting the right size door knobs can be quite tricky. Here is a quick run down of the sizes we do and some tips to help you get door knob selection right first time!

Firstly remember that differences in size appear quite small eg 30mm, 38mm, 42mm, 50mm, however when seen on the diameter of the door knobs there is quite a large difference. You also need to consider the projection, ie how far the door knob sticks out from the door. Sizes are all indicated on each product. We give the door knob diameter, backplate diameter and height (projection) in mm.

If you are in doubt, the best thing to do is make paper templates of the diameter and stick this to your door. This will give you the best idea as to how they will look.

Another factor you may need to consider is how far back the door knobs can be set into your door. It is vital that you have enough space between the door frame and the edge of the door knob when closed

Cupboard Knobs

Sizes start at the lowest end at 20mm and we go up to 30mm, 32mm, 38mm, 40mm and 50mm options.

20mm, 30mm and 32mm make small cupboard door knobs and drawer pulls.

40mm diameter is also ideal as a cupboard knob or door pull perhaps on doors and drawers or where you want the knob to look more of a feature.

50mm diameter is for full size doors where only a pull is required (ie no requirement for turning door knobs). Remember these are the same size as a normal pair of door knobs.

Door Knobs and Centre Pulls

Our smallest door knob is the small cottage at 42mm, up to 100mm for our largest centre door pull.

50mm diameter  is the ideal size for most internal doors and the best selling size by far. This size suits normal size doors around size 1980 x 760mm. eg Richmond Beehive Door Knobs, Bloxwich Door Knobs, Medium Cottage Knobs

60 -75mm diameter these are the ones if you have large internal doors, or you just prefer the look of a larger door knob then

Over 75mm these are really only suitable as centre pulls. These are for large external doors, where the door knob is designed to be the central pull and big focal point on the door eg

Fitch Window Sash Fastener Brass Locking

WINDOW FURNITURE -BEST SASH WINDOW FASTENERS FOR DOUBLE GLAZING

If you have double glazed units this will limit the amount of space you have to fix a sash fastener. It means that most won’t fit, especially the arm type sash fasteners.

The most popular sash window fastener where space is limited is the Fitch Fastener. The keeper backplate is 64mm long and only 11mm wide and the fastener side is 64mm long and 15mm wide. This is available in a locking or non locking version and in polished nickel or unlacquered brass.

We can also supply a narrow arm sash fastener this has a 15mm width backplate on one side and 19mm on the other, still not as narrow as the Fitch Fastener. Contact us for details.

Don’t forget the sash lifts. We do a lovely chunky cast one in polished nickel or unlacquered brass.

See photos below of a Brass Fitch Fastener, dimension details and a narrow straight arm sash Fastener