In 1919, Walter Hart established his blacksmith business in Sturminster Newton. While initially famed for more traditional blacksmith items – horseshoes, cart wheels and the like – as the business grew, so did the Hart family's offering, as did the location; in 1949 they moved to a larger premises in Butts Pond, the location that Harts of Stur still calls home to this day. In the 1950s, Walter's son Eddie saw the opportunity to branch out into agricultural ironmongery and manufacturing of farm supplies, a lucrative move that saw business take off. Another smart decision in the late 70s by Eddie's son, Philip, saw the business look to new markets once again: homewares. 

A Stoven wok

The store quickly became popular as a modern department store, with particular notoriety for its reliable supply of high-quality homeware products. Despite multiple attempts from larger businesses to purchase the store, it remained firmly a family business and expanded, first in its bricks and mortar locations and then to online, where sales took off. Still to this day, however, you can visit that same Butts Pond store, where many of the original tools used by Walter Hart are on display. 

With a growing reputation for homeware and cookware, it only makes sense that Harts of Stur would eventually release their own line, and they did just that with the Stoven collection. Designed in collaboration with, and exclusively for, the family business, Stoven pieces are designed to last a lifetime. Aiming to sit at the junction between affordable and reliable without sacrificing on performance or quality, these are pieces that you can keep forever, but won't break the bank. 

The stainless steel cookware sets are designed to have everything you need to cook with confidence in the kitchen; a 14cm milk pan, 16cm saucepan with lid, 18cm saucepan with lid, 20cm saucepan with lid and 26cm frying pan. Constructed from hard gauge stainless steel, these pans not only look great, but provide a great and even distribution of heat throughout the pan. Meanwhile, a thick stainless steel and aluminium encapsulated base provides fast and even heating whilst being extremely energy efficient. Even better, they're induction-friendly and come in two styles – the straight forward stainless steel, and the Soft Touch collection, which features a silicone sleeve on the handles, so you can move them around safely. Need a little more? The new wok range includes 3 different sizes of woks, each available with or without a non-stick coating and constructed from high grade carbon steel with an induction compatible base, plus a rubberwood handle that is designed to stay cool while the pan is in use.

Stoven bakeware is perfect for novices and professionals alike

Fancy yourself something of a future Bakeoff contestant? The Stoven bakeware range will make flexing your sweet treat muscles light work. The heavy duty, professional quality bakeware are made from 1mm thick carbon steel. Each piece features a durable and highly effective Quantum 2 non-stick coating, and is perfect for novice bakers and confident cooks alike. 

They may not be made by Walter Hart himself, but the Stoven range pulls on this century of knowledge and craftsmanship to design pieces that are made for everyday use, but intended to last a lifetime. Now that is workmanship we're sure the late blacksmith would be proud of. 

Visit hartsofstur.com for the latest Stoven offers and prices.