Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is one of the country’s leading heritage railways, operating in Shropshire and Worcestershire using steam locomotives and carriages from the former mainline railways of the early and mid twentieth century. The lavatory pan “hopper” used in many of these carriages, originally produced by Twyfords from the 1920s became unavailable even to Railpart, the component supplier to the Train Operating Companies of the National Network.
Oak Ceramics produced a pattern copied off an original 1950s hopper and have supplied them in traditional white finish and 1960s Primrose Yellow. These have ensured that our unique London North Eastern Railway and London Midland and Scottish Railway sets of carriages, and the more common British Railways 1950s type have continued to be presented in full working order with genuine fittings. We have also sold on several hoppers to coach restorers at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and even two to the current operators of Scotland’s local train services in Edinburgh via Railpart.
The quality of the product is spot-on and the fact that small batch orders are possible is essential to our movement where demand is spasmodic owing to the protracted nature of heavy railway carriage restorations.
Seasure / Blakes
Blakes of Gosport is one of the oldest and well known brands within the UK maritime industry, dating back as far as 1789. Blakes of Gosport are a manufacturer of classic marine W.C’s and seacocks for yachts, now owned by Sea Sure limited and manufactured in Warsash Southampton.
Blakes W.C’s are manufactured from solid bronze components, a handmade lid and seat assembly manufactured by the same company that supply the royal family, and finished with a handmade ceramic bowl manufactured by Oak ceramics. Many of our customers customise the colour, finish, and specification of their W.C’s to match the interior of their yacht.
Oak ceramics are able to small batch manufacture ceramic bowls to a world class standard with small custom details such as the yachts name printed into the bowl, to really add the finish touch to a classic marine W.C. Oak Ceramics are a professional company and a joy to work with.
The Barbican Centre
In 2016 we were instructed by The City of London to complete a refurbishment of the main concert hall toilets for the Barbican Centre.
This led to a requirement for 25 bespoke ceramic dividers for the slab urinals; a total of 21m in length. The divider was not an original feature and therefore had to pass muster with the City of London Planning Authority due to the Grade II listed status of the centre. We were fortunate to find Oak Ceramics who worked closely with us to produce what was aesthetically desired whilst providing their expert advice with regard to what is technically feasible for fired ceramics.
Once manufactured and delivered in perfect condition by Oak ceramics, the dividers were easily installed and continue to fulfil their (humble) function to this day.
