Fresh from my conversation with David Lucas, founder of Reclaimed Radiators (cue podcast plug—you can listen here), I found myself thinking about my first visit to a reclamation yard. It turns out David and I shared a connection in our journeys: Walcot Reclamation in Bath.
This month's podcast delves into the rescue, restoration and reuse of reclaimed radiators. Listen here
Founded in the 1970s by Thornton Kay and Rick Knapp, Walcot Reclamation became a destination for everything from fine architectural antiques to reclaimed building materials, featuring craft workshops designed to make reuse happen. It was the first place in Britain to be called a reclamation yard and helped establish the salvage scene we know today.
David joined Walcot after Thornton had already left to start Salvo in 1991. Motivated to grow the network and raise awareness of the environmental benefits of saving endangered materials, Thornton founded Salvo as a directory of salvage dealers. Today, Salvo is a destination for reuse, with a marketplace and a worldwide directory of over 4,000 salvage-friendly businesses. Thus, my connection: now part of the Salvo team, I took my first steps into a reclamation yard under Thornton’s wing when I began my first home renovation using reclaimed materials. Fittingly, reclaimed radiators were among the first salvage finds for my home.
Even in the age of the internet, architectural salvage can still feel like a secret you’ve been let in on, a world where you stumble across unique treasures. So I was glad to see it get a shout-out in this season of the Sex and the City sequel, And Just Like That…
If you haven’t seen it, here’s the gist: Sex and the City, set in New York, was ahead of its time in telling women’s stories. The sequel? Maybe not so much. Yet I still watch every episode as soon as it drops.
In a recent storyline, Carrie, the protagonist, describes the irreplaceable old glass in the French doors of her Gramercy Park brownstone after her love interest, Aidan, breaks a pane in a failed romantic gesture.
A scene with salvaged antique doors on my screen in And Just Like That...
“You can’t replace that glass. That glass is really old, and it’s really delicate and wavy, and it makes rainbows when the sun hits it a certain way,” says Carrie.
So Aidan sets out to find period-appropriate salvage glass. He drives two hours out of the city when he could have just popped to The Demolition Depot on 126th Street or Olde Good Things’ Manhattan store (if only he’d known about the Salvo Directory).
My last visit to The Demolition Depot and my big hair fresh from my Manhattan blow dry
Circling back to my podcast guest: During our conversation, David shared a story about salvaging a huge antique revolving door with curved glass, which had a New York connection. Maybe that’s what made me think of the episode. Or maybe it’s that David’s stories could open your door into the world of reusing reclaimed features in your home.
David Lucas of Reclaimed Radiators and the bespoke copper finish we chat about on a radiator in his kitchen
It’s a fascinating chat if, like me, you’re exploring efficient ways to heat an older home or are curious about how the past can help shape the future, while reducing the carbon footprint of your renovation. David also gives me a tour of his kitchen, featuring a beautifully experimental radiator finish and his 1950s Hollins Planet kitchen cabinet, which meets modern Howdens cabinetry, topped with a reclaimed iroko worktop.
1950s Hollins Planet kitchen cabinet meets Howdens cabinetry
Reclaimed radiators before restoration, see before and after photos on Instagram @reclaimedradiators
Visit Reclaimed Radiators to explore their collection
©Photographs courtesy of Reclaimed Radiators & Reclaimed Woman
Story Type: Columnist
