Falcon history

AGA Rangemaster, manufacturers of the Falcon range cookers, are the market leaders in the manufacturing of range cookers. From the distinctive design of the Falcon Elan Deluxe, to the contemporary and innovative Nexus Steam, Falcon is famous for its style and functionality.
 

We are able to draw on a long history, stretching back over 200 years.

William Flavel
1803 - 1830

OUR STORY BEGINS

Our story begins when, in 1803, John Flavel moved his metal-working business near Rugby to Leamington Spa. Generations of the Flavel family would become civic leaders in the town, while the factory itself became a major local employer.

The new foundry enabled John's son, William, to expand and develop his epoch-making 1830 invention, the Kitchener range cooker...

Kitchener, the very first range cooker
1830 - 1850

THE BIRTH OF THE KITCHENER

Manufactured in cast iron and heated by solid fuel, the Kitchener could be used to boil, roast, bake and warm - all from the same heat source. It was hailed as one of the greatest domestic institutions of the 19th Century.

A contemporary advert at the time described it as...

"The most ready means of performing in the best manner, either separately or at the same time, all the operations of cooking with only one fire, and that an open one, which may be of any size to suit the kitchen of the smallest cottage, or the largest mansion or hotel.... its arrangement is so simple, in every department of the culinary process, that servants cannot easily disorder or mismanage it."

Following the death of William Flavel in 1844, his son Sidney took over and ran the firm. In 1851 he exhibited the Kitchener at the Great Exhibition (the first in a series of world fairs of culture and industry) of exhibition celebrating the supremacy of British manufacturing) at the Crystal Palace in London. ). It was a roaring success and Sidney was awarded a medal for the Kitchener.

Original AGA cast iron range cooker in Cream
1851 - 1950

THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

Between 1851 and the turn of the century, the Kitchener won many more awards throughout the world. As the Victorian era wore on, the Kitchener went from strength to strength. Its status was recognised by everyone from Edward VII and the King of Italy to the Emperor of Germany - who all had Kitchener stoves. The Duchess of Gloucester, Queen Victoria’s aunt was so impressed, she ordered a Kitchener for Kensington Palace.

In 1856 the company moved to the Eagle Foundry at Clarence Street. Leamington Spa, which today is still the location of the AGA Rangemaster range cooker factory.

Following the First World War, developments in gas and electricity paved the way for the next generation of range cookers. Much of the historic cast iron technology was adopted by AGA, a sister brand of Falcon, and today known as THE brand for cast iron ranges.

Sidney Flavel remained at the forefront of cooker styling and technology and his reputation for innovation remained. Indeed, much modern domestic cooker technology has its roots in the development laboratories of Leamington Spa.

Falcon Classic Deluxe 110 Induction in Regal Blue with brass trim
1951 - 1995

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF INNOVATION

AGA Rangemaster were the first to offer colour shaded cookers, and the first dual fuel cooker and the fold away grill all came from our laboratories at Leamington Spa.

In 1995, AGA Rangemaster launched its first double oven range cooker; this 1995 model would become our best ever-selling range cooker so far.

Falcon Nexus SE Induction with griddle in Stainless Steel with satin chrome trim
2002 – 2014

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

In 2002 the Royal Leamington Spa site was transformed into a centre of excellence for range cooking. 

With exceptional facilities and a state of the art Research and Development facility, AGA Rangemaster has the platform to continue be a leading range cooker manufacturer’s in Europe for years to come. We continue to produce cookers of the highest quality in Britain, staying true to a history of innovation, design and reliability.

Falcon range cookers are available globally and are renowned for their quality and performance. To ensure that our products continue to perform to their best potential we employ a home economist who carries out British standard cook tests on all of our cookers and who checks that our user manuals are easy to follow and understand.

More than 1 millions range cookers produced by AGA Rangemaster
2015

1 MILLION RANGE COOKERS

On 4th March 2015 we celebrated the historic milestone of manufacturing our millionth modern range cooker at our plant in Leamington Spa.