British Berkefeld® Water Purifiers Highlighted by Stuff Magazine

Stuff magazine, a leading UK journal covering the latest advances in design and technology, has recently taken a look back over the most important technological advances of the 20th Century.

Stuff has selected the most significant new product introduced each year and produced a list of one hundred items which have become design classics.

Back in 1904 as Albert Einstein was announcing his Special Theory of Relativity, British Berkefeld was introducing theirs first domestic water filter, which could provide purified drinking water direct from the main.

Stuff have also selected another Fairey product for the year 1919 - the Fairey Seaplane. This was the first aircraft capable of landing on, and taking off from, water.

Today the design of Doulton and British Berkefeld products has changed beyond all recognition, but the latest models remain at the forefront of water filter design.

10 December, 1999
British Berkefeld Water Filters included in Stuff magazine's top 100 technological advances of the last century.

12 June, 2000
British Berkefeld water filter on display at Dundee Heritage Trust in Scotland.
An important example of the early use of British Berkefeld water filters has been successfully recreated on board the Royal Research Ship Discovery at Discovery Point, Dundee, Scotland.

Discovery' was launched in 1901 and went on to make a series of Antarctic exploratory voyages. One hundred years ago Dundee was a major whaling centre and local shipyards had all the skills necessary to construct massively strong vessels capable of withstanding the rigours of polar ice. The maiden voyage of Discovery in 1901 was the British Antarctic expedition led by Captain Scott, his first major voyage to the area.

The galley of 'Discovery' features an original British Berkefeld water filter as used on the early expeditions. The filters were valued as a reliable method of providing a supply of safe drinking water from any source. In 1901 members of Scott’s expedition collected Antarctic ice on a daily basis, for their drinking water supply. A century later, the proven ability of British Berkefeld products to remove disease causing organisms from contaminated water supplies, continues to make them a popular choice in locations around the world.

The Ship is now preserved as a museum, accurately recreating the working environment of the pioneering expeditions of the early 20th century.

Doulton's History