The Sterlingham Co. Ltd. - Bathroom Fittings logo

Beginnings

Kelvin Pearce founded his original business, Black Country Heritage,  in February 1986. The bank manager had loaned him £400 to tide him over until he found a "proper job". Inspired by the manufacturing background within which he had trained as an accountant Kelvin patented low-energy Towel Warmers and designed period fittings, the original Classic Range.

Inspired also by a piece of wood carved with the words: 

"Though a man may live in the heart of the forest if he makes the finest chair the world will beat a path to his door"

The business flourished until 2009, with export orders forming the bulk of the company production. These exports meant the company was noticed in high places and led to the highlight of Kelvin's career - an invitation to the annual garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Phoenix

Sadly in 2010 recessionary factors caused the company to close but, undaunted, Kelvin Pearce invited his most skilled craftsmen to join him as fellow shareholders in a new and rejuvenated venture -  The Sterlingham Co.  (now The Sterlingham Co. Ltd.)

The craftsmen of The Sterlingham Co. Ltd. are far more than metal bashers.  We understand good taste as well as having stringent internal quality demands and we often work with clients to produce individualised pieces. This requires insight, even an occasional clairvoyancy-  particularly where only brief specifications are provided over the telephone or e-mail. Every now and then clients may require a special finish such as architectural bronze, which can vary tremendously in shade. In such cases we can usually match the finish if provided with a sample piece.  

Our products are made in much the same way as a hundred years or more ago. We lathe turn individual components, silver solder, polish, bend materials and assemble all by hand. In this way we build in a quality standard unmatched by others. 

      

                  Silver soldering a towel warmer                              Lathe turning                                              Hand polishing

 

Combining the Traditional with the Innovative

Located on "The Crystal Mile" an area of  Stourbridge famed for the production of lead crystal glass, Sterlingham source materials as locally as possible. Our mirrors use the best glass, our pottery is made in Stoke-on-Trent and our Birmingham brass supplier has been a trusted resource for over twenty years.

redhouse cone

Redhouse Glass cone is the best preserved in the UK and was the former home of Stuart Crystal

Incidentally, the name Sterlingham combines the pound Sterling with Birmingham - both of which have been historically famed for dependability, quality and reliability. These attributes appropriately sum up The Sterlingham Co. Ltd.  

Well known by architects and interior designers specifying for houses and hotels, Sterlingham has continued to innovate and in the last year alone we have developed products for the marine and recreational vehicle sectors. Our towel warmer ranges have increased and we have launched the first traditional towel warmers operating on 12 volt or 24 volt battery supply. Our products have been used on narrowboats to super-yachts and in apartments to palaces.

SEE OUR COMPLETE COLLECTIONS AT:      www.bathroom-fittings.com

Personal touch

Our products can be found in very few shops within the UK. Quality such as ours proves difficult for many retailers supplying higher volumes of cheap, run of the mill and imported items. Furthermore our collections and designs are so extensive that no shop could devote the space required to display them all. We don't believe your choice should be limited to what can be shown on a small display board. That is why we bend over backwards to offer a bespoke service. All our towel warmers can be made to the height, width and number of rails you need.  Several accessories, such as towel bars and rectangular mirrors can also be customized.  

Wherever possible we will try to help solve problems. When a London designer purchased and installed a reclaimed hot water towel warmer which proved leaky we completely overhauled it - saving the original fittings and ball joints which we silver soldered to new brass tubes,  hand polished the towel warmer and then plated it in polished nickel. That's not the kind of service you can put on a display board. 

Finally, my thanks to Mr.Porter of National Westminster Bank for helping me get a proper job, Made by Hands of Britain for providing this platform for our hand made products and to you for reading about us. We hope you will want to know more.

 


 BEFORE

 This is the towel warmer (mentioned above) purchased by a London interior designer from a reclamation yard. The yard made attempts to repair the leaks by using some kind of metal filler. This proved to be in vain as well as ugly and so she contacted us, knowing of our expertise.

AFTER

This is the same towel warmer. We saved the ball joints, floor fittings and upper rail connectors and added new tube and tappings for the hot water supply. The towel warmer was then finished in polished nickel plate.