The Chief has landed! The excitement was noticeable when the courier van drove up outside Riverside this morning. Inside was something which can only be described as 'Weber Gold'. It was a 50-year old Weber Kettle, 26" still in great condition.

Having recently been contacted by an eagle-eyed customer who realised our interest in Weber and our plans for a new Weber museum, the customer, who was located in Northern Ireland, got in contact with us stating that he might have something which could be a great addition to our museum. We love hearing from people like this, and boy was we interested on this occasion.

The gentleman informed us that he originally had the barbecue shipped from America to himself in Northern Ireland, where it was still being used for the regular family barbecues, and it has now made its way to us in Hertfordshire.

Featuring the wooden handles on the top, but the metal handle on the front, the chocolate brown barbecue was originally available in three different sizes; 18" which was called 'The Brave', a 22" which was called 'The Warrior' and the one we have managed to get our hands on the 26" 'The Chief'.

As you can see from this 1969 Weber catalogue the 22" Warrior use to retail for $ 57.95, it's also very interesting to read all about how Weber was the pioneers of 'lid down' barbecuing, explaining to the consumer how the heat is reflected"combining the economy of an oven with the zest of a barbecue'.

We think we've given it a fair introduction, and it's now time to show you The Chief in all its glory...

We're so pleased to have added this great barbecue to our Weber Museum, which just keeps on growing. We're hoping to open the doors to it within the next 6 months. In the meantime, if you have any old Weber barbecues or memorabilia which you think may be of interest, then please email sales@riversidegardencentre.co.uk with some images and information about your item, we'd love to hear from you!

Lastly, we thought it only fair to show you a couple of images of the growing collection, which Marcus Bawdon from Country Wood Smoke and Jack from Jacks Meat Shack came to visit the other week.