In a garage in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, a 90-year-old Electrolux fridge hums quietly, its tiny door secured by a clipped metal latch. While modern appliances across the country failed during recent heatwaves – supermarket fridges among them – this vintage workhorse kept its contents chilled, as it has done for more than seven decades.
The current owners, an elderly couple in their 80s who have asked not to be named, bought the fridge in 1949, just after the Second World War, for £49 – roughly £2,200 in today’s money. It had originally been built by Electrolux in the 1930s, making it Britain’s oldest known working fridge. The couple relied on it during the 2021 heatwaves, when their newer fridge-freezer needed replacing, and it is still going strong during the current hot spell.
“A 90-year-old Electrolux fridge in Gloucestershire, bought for £49 in 1949, still works through heatwaves.”
Adam Kerry, a salesman at John Kerry & Sons, discovered the ancient appliance while replacing the couple’s faulty fridge-freezer. “They were relying on it while their fridge and freezer were broken, probably due to the heat,” he said. “The couple’s parents bought it second hand in 1930 something for £49. That’s about £1,800 in today’s money. It doesn’t keep things chilled as you might expect today. It doesn’t have the same energy efficiency. The fridge is tiny. You couldn’t buy anything that size today. It’s definitely not big enough for the weekly shop. You couldn’t fit two coke bottles stacked on one another in there.”
Business owner Jonathan Kerry saw the fridge again this year and confirmed it is “still going strong”. The couple themselves describe it as “an old workhorse” that “definitely deserves a long service medal.” They use it at Christmas for extra space and for storing apples in summer. “It’s been very well behaved,” they said. “We’re quite happy to be its guardians for years to come.”
The fridge has already outlasted its own history: once kept by the couple’s parents, it moved with them to Sussex for 40 years before returning to Gloucestershire in 2006. “It’s a family heirloom,” they added. “We will hopefully pass it down.”
Its longevity contrasts sharply with modern appliances, many of which struggle or fail when air temperatures rise above 32°C. In 2021, King Charles suggested his then 67-year-old Frigidaire at the Castle of Mey in Scotland was the oldest still functioning fridge – a claim now challenged by this unassuming 1930s Electrolux.