The close range was introduced in the Victorian period. It prevented hot air from escaping up the chimney, and would make it circulate around hot plates and a water boiler. Iron close ranges could have up to six separate ovens, and replaced brick-built ovens. Some houses, however, had both an open fire and a close range because the former was more suitable for roasting, whilst the latter was for baking.

The Great Exhibition (1851-1862) brought new inventions to people's notice. This included washing machines, dishwashers, gas cookers, and food mincers, which were to replace the massive mortars used to grind sugar, salt, meat and bones. These gadgets soon became diverse and specialised: beef-shavers, fruit presses, sausage-stuffers, graters, tongue pressers, ice-shredders, apple peelers, corers and slicers, coffee-mills, bone-mills, cork-pullers, vegetable slicers, meat-juice extractors, raisin-seeders and potato-chip cutters.