Antique bread oven leaves Somerset restorer 'speechless'
The oven - a 19th Century revolutionary steam tube model - was found tucked away in a derelict grocer's shop by the producers of Channel 4 series Our Yorkshire Shop: A Victorian Renovation.
Mr Osborne said he had a particular interest in the the special place ovens have traditionally played in people's lives."They weren't just a random appliance built by robots in a faraway land – but something that was connected to the community.
'Ovens tell a story'
"They represented the household chores and the household story happening around those fires – bathing babies, cooking dinners, having baths; it was such a hub of domestic life."They were built by hand, by people, with materials that were brought out of the ground and forged into shapes and they have a much greater story - a greater connection," he said, adding that he has worked on a variety of equipment."I do everything from canal boats and gypsy caravans, to living vans towed behind steam engines, little cottages, potting sheds, railway stations, big houses and museums."We're doing a restaurant over in Los Angeles at the end of the year - we get around," he said.
The television series - set in Masham, a small town in the Yorkshire Dales - followed Mr Osborne over several months as he worked on the ancient oven. Mr Osborne, who said he had been taken aback when he first saw the heritage oven, managed to fire it up and get it baking again.His efforts can be seen in Our Yorkshire Shop: A Victorian Restoration on Channel 4, Sundays at 20:00 BST.
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