In conversation with Caroline at our St Albans showroom

For many people, St Albans is the answer to a question they’ve been asking for years: how do you move out of London without really leaving it? A twenty minute train to St Pancras, exceptional schools, a lively market town full of independent shops and restaurants, and some of the most characterful properties in the Home Counties. It consistently ranks among the most desirable places to live in England, and it’s easy to see why.

Our St Albans showroom sits on Holywell Hill, one of the city’s most historic streets, surrounded by buildings that date back five centuries. We caught up with Caroline Duggan, Director at The Radiator Centre, to find out what makes St Albans tick.

“The first thing we talk about is whether someone wants to stay true to the period of their property, or whether they want to blend ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’.

St Albans has such an extraordinary range of property styles. Medieval timber-framed cottages on Fishpool Street, Georgian townhouses, Victorian terraces near the centre, and the large Edwardian Arts and Crafts homes that the St Peter’s area is known for. Each one has its own character.

For the heritage properties, Castrads and our Tuba radiators are consistently popular. They feel right at home in a Victorian terrace or a large detached Arts and Crafts house. Cast iron in particular has that weight and presence that suits older buildings. It doesn’t look like it was retrofitted; it looks like it was always there.

Some customers are working within listed building constraints, which means we have to think carefully about what’s possible. Others want something that honours the character of the house while feeling completely current. The Tuba steel column is a great example, working beautifully in period properties while feeling completely current. Victorian hallways can feel dark and narrow. A highly polished or mirrored radiator can be a beautiful way to address that. It draws in light, adds a modern twist and is a different way to think about bringing light, heat and the functionality of a mirror into your hallway.

For the larger detached properties around Clarence Park and the St Peter’s area, we spend a lot of time talking about the radiators and the valve combinations. A beautiful cast iron radiator with the wrong valves can let the whole thing down. Get them right and the radiator feels completely finished, and it often leads customers to matching their door handles and window latches, light and plug switches to the same finish as the valve. We have customers who come back specifically to upgrade their valves once they’ve seen what’s possible.”

“It really does. Walk down the hill, wiggle through Sumpter Yard towards Verulamium Park and you’ll find Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, reputedly the oldest pub in England, sitting right at the park entrance. We were really pleased to be involved in their 2026 renovation. Supplying radiators for a building with that kind of history is not something you forget.

Working from a space like this keeps you connected to what people in St Albans actually care about. They love the history and the character of this place, and they want their homes to feel part of it.”

“A customer came in who was renovating her kitchen and wanted something a bit different for the space.

We got talking and she mentioned a favourite holiday. We ended up working through several images together, thinking about composition, colours, how the image would translate onto a vertical radiator format. It took a bit of back and forth to get it right. She was brilliant to work with, really clear about what she loved and open to suggestions about what would actually work well on the panel.

The finished radiator has her photograph printed onto it. It’s completely one of a kind. Every time she’s in her kitchen she’s reminded of a place she loves. That’s what we’re here for really. Anyone can sell a radiator. We want to help people end up with something they genuinely love.”