Mystery Safe

This lovely old circa 1880-1890’s key safe was built into a wall in a lovely old house in Oxford, OX postcode, not your conventional wall safe, but hand built into the wall with excellent workmanship (sadly lacking in today’s profit before workmanship criteria). This safe was interesting as obviously (to me) had been worked on before and had a different brass plate and escutcheon than when it left the workshop. Upon closer inspection I discovered it had been fitted with a 1980’s seven lever safe lock. The lock was picked open and combination changed (so previos lost key wouldn’t work if found by anyone) and two new keys cut on site. After speaking to the lady of the house it was discovered that in the 80’s she had hired someone- who she described as a right old character, to open the safe (again due to a lost key). He had come and opened and changed the lock for her, after assuring her he was ‘the best safe cracker in the country, and could open any lock’, she mentioned that his name was Terry, and after further probing we discovered it was in fact, Terry Stadden. The legend. I had the honor of being trained by Terry in the 90’s, anyone in the safe and locksmithing world will know the Stadden name, he is responsible for reviving lock picking in the 70’s as it was becoming a ‘lost art’. Working on this particular safe, after master Terry, felt like a right of passage and I was very happy to use his teachings to continue on his work and follow in his footsteps. Clearing up the mystery of the non standard brass fittings and parts used from different era safes.