Traditional Bathrooms

Our 200 Year History

Founded in 1825 as a small ironmongery, the business has grown into one of the city’s best-known interiors specialists. From the very beginning, its reputation was built on quality craftsmanship, dependable service, and close relationships with local customers - values that continue to define the company today.

Our bicentenary marks more than the passage of time; it celebrates two centuries of helping Bristol residents create comfortable, stylish homes.

The company was formally registered as Gardiner Sons & Co Ltd in 1893, having already traded for almost 70 years. Established in the 1820s as a blacksmith and ironmonger, Gardiners initially produced practical metal goods for the people of Bristol. As the business expanded through the Victorian era, it operated several large factories manufacturing everything from door handles to ornate iron gates for stately homes.

Among its most notable products were cast-iron kitchen ranges — the predecessors of today’s modern range cookers, which the company still supplies. One of these historic ranges can now be seen at Blaise Castle Museum in Bristol, where it was donated to the collection during the 1980s.

Gardiners’ reputation for precision and quality attracted distinguished customers. One of the most famous was Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who commissioned the company to create bespoke drawing instruments, including scale dividers made to his own design. Engraved with “Gardiners Bristol,” these tools are now preserved at the Brunel Institute beside the SS Great Britain.

In the early twentieth century, the company further diversified into large-scale metal fabrication. Its work included structural features for the entrance to the Festival of Britain and elements of the steel framework inside the iconic twin towers of the original Wembley (Empire) Stadium, built in 1923.

Through every chapter of its history, from ironmongery to interiors, Gardiner