William Sugg & Co

Heating

Introduction to Heating Equipment

When gas is burned it produces heat. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In the gas lighting world we are trying to produce light without heat – and failing miserably, albeit there was a step change with the invention of the gas mantle. (See ‘Lighting’) On the other hand, if we want heat, then gas is an ideal fuel and, throughout the history of William Sugg & Co, heating appliances have featured strongly.

Gas Fires Pre 1910‘ provides a look at the development of the product that was seen essentially as a replacement for the open coal fire.

Gas Fires 1910 – 1940‘ provides a look at the development of fires with an eye to design for the age.

Gas Fires, Post War‘ looks at the development of the fires that were to proceed the concept of central heating with improved efficiency, variations on the method of fluing and with an eye to matching the ‘modern’ decor.

Water Heating Pre 1910‘ looks at the methods of heating water to replace the time honoured heating of saucepans of water on a coal fired range.

Warm Air Heating‘ covers the development of the ‘Halcyon’ warm air heaters after the war providing an entirely new gas load for the industry and a new start for William Sugg & Co, suffering from the loss of the gas lighting market.

Low Water Content Boiler‘ provides the final development story of the Company prior to its takeover and certainly one of its most important developments which affected the whole heating industry.

Radiant Overhead Heating‘ is another important means of heating which is ideal for heating ‘bodies’ rather than the atmosphere.

Incinerators‘ has been included within ‘heating’ as it is quite a small section which covers a limited period of time in the later history of William Sugg & Co. and it has closer connections to heating than to any other group.

Copyright © Chris Sugg 2006-13

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Site Background & Header

The background to the site is a modern picture of Westminster, the ‘home’ of William Sugg for so many years. It was taken from the roof of The House of Lords during a visit by the Heritage Group of CIBSE in 2004 and centres on Westminster Abbey. The header carries a woodcut of ‘Vincent Works’, the Sugg factory, which might well have been visible from this vantage point. William used this on one of his letter heads. The first and oldest logo also shows the intimate connection with Westminster as it carries the Westminster portcullis with the inscription ‘en avant’ – ‘in advance’. The second logo replaced the earlier one around 1920 and was used right the way through the century until the ‘modern’ era when the ‘flame’ logo was applied to the new era of gas heating equipment with the new factory in Crawley.

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