Oven cleaning in Downe, BR6, the village where Darwin lived, and the lanes around Down House. Dip-tank method, seven days, single ovens from £77.
Down House stands on Luxted Road, a quarter of a mile south of the village, and Charles Darwin lived in it for forty years, from 1842 until he died there on 19 April 1882. It is Grade I listed, run by English Heritage. Downe is in the London Borough of Bromley, about 14 miles southeast of Charing Cross, and it was in Kent until the 1965 boundary changes.
A village that never turned into a suburb
The 1931 census counted 717 people here, after which the parish was abolished and folded into Orpington. Growth since has been held down hard. Downe Village Conservation Area sits inside the Green Belt and an Area of Archaeological Significance, and roughly 52 per cent of Bromley borough is Green Belt, with the southern fringe falling inside the Kent Downs National Landscape. The practical result is a stock of older cottages and farmstead conversions rather than estate housing, which tends to mean solid-fuel and freestanding cookers in rooms that were never designed around a fitted kitchen. A two-oven AGA is £143.
Getting a van up the lanes
Two pubs face each other. The George and Dragon at 26 High Street dates from the early nineteenth century, when it was known simply as the George, and Darwin stayed there with his young family while he was house hunting, before the move into Down House in 1842. The Queens Head across the road is sixteenth century and took the Bromley CAMRA pub of the year award in 2014. No controlled parking zone out here, no meters, but the lanes are narrow, so tell us if your drive is the only place to stop. Downe is inside Greater London, so ULEZ applies. That is our cost, not yours. Fixed price, no premium-area surcharge.
What it costs
| Single oven | £77 |
| Double oven | £110 |
| Range cooker, 90cm | £114 |
| Two-oven AGA | £143 |
| Hob | £23–28 |
| Extractor hood | £28 |
| Microwave | £22 |
What people in Downe ask
Do you actually come out this far?
Yes, seven days. The nearest stations are Orpington and Hayes, both about four and a half miles off. We drive, so the distance is our problem and the price does not move.
My kitchen is in a listed cottage. Is that a problem?
No. Nothing is drilled, stripped or sprayed. The removable parts soak in the van and the cavity, fan cover and door glass are degreased by hand indoors with non-caustic products.
Will the house smell of chemicals afterwards?
It should not, because the caustic soaking never comes through the door. The oven is heat-tested and signed off before we leave.
Can you do the hob and extractor at the same visit?
Yes, £23–28 for a hob depending on type, £28 for an extractor hood.
Said after the sign-off
I would certainly recommend this service, very efficient and good value for money. The young man did a great job and even cleaned the kitchen floor. Thank you.
Brilliant clean, my oven looks like brand new. A 5 star clean.
Once again a great job guys, I will see you in a couple of months.
Finding Downe
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Call 020 8077 5225 and the Downe price is fixed on the spot.