It is hard to imagine doing the gardening without the lawnmower. Lawnmowers are common place nowadays, but where did they originate from? The lawnmower was invented around 1930 by a British engineer called Edwin Beard Budding, who was from Gloucestershire, England.
Budding's invention began when he noticed how a machine in a cloth mill used a cutting cylinder, which was mounted on a bench to trim cloth. Budding being an engineer could see how the same principle could be applied to cutting grass and set about designing a machine that could utilise similar principles.
Budding decided to form a partnership with another engineer called John Ferrabee and they made mowers in a factory in Stroud. Budding and Ferrabee then decided that they would license other manufacturers to build mowers, which became a shrewd idea.
This early mower was designed with a cutting cylinder in front of a larger rear roller. A gear mechanism was used to transmit power to the front cutting cylinder and were not to dissimilar to the human powered lawn mowers of today.
In 1859 Thomas Green, invented the chain driven mower. The benefit of using the chain driven mower over the geared mower was the fact that the machine was lighter and more quiet, however, they did cost more. After some years, a further innovation came about with the sidewheel machines, which had a wheel either side of the cutting cylinder. The benefit to this style of mower was the fact that they were light and relatively cheap, which made them popular world wide.
Over the years various manufacturers began to appear, one of the more famous ones being Ransomes Automation, which were a British company, who developed chain and geared mowers. In Around 1902, Ransomes introduced a petrol engine mower which led the market until the First World War. The company is still a leading producer of mowers to this day.
After the First World War, there was a growth in the production of lawn mowers. More people were moving to the suburbs, which had homes with small gardens. During this period companies such as Atco and Qualcast began to become successful and still producing lawn mowers to this day.
Over the years there have been further developments with the mower, such as the invention of the rotary hover mower and the large sit on mowers that are used to tend for larger turfed areas. Although many of the original manufacturers may have disappeared, some of the companies still trade, which has helped the lawnmowers become a common site in most garden sheds.
Budding's invention began when he noticed how a machine in a cloth mill used a cutting cylinder, which was mounted on a bench to trim cloth. Budding being an engineer could see how the same principle could be applied to cutting grass and set about designing a machine that could utilise similar principles.
Budding decided to form a partnership with another engineer called John Ferrabee and they made mowers in a factory in Stroud. Budding and Ferrabee then decided that they would license other manufacturers to build mowers, which became a shrewd idea.
This early mower was designed with a cutting cylinder in front of a larger rear roller. A gear mechanism was used to transmit power to the front cutting cylinder and were not to dissimilar to the human powered lawn mowers of today.
In 1859 Thomas Green, invented the chain driven mower. The benefit of using the chain driven mower over the geared mower was the fact that the machine was lighter and more quiet, however, they did cost more. After some years, a further innovation came about with the sidewheel machines, which had a wheel either side of the cutting cylinder. The benefit to this style of mower was the fact that they were light and relatively cheap, which made them popular world wide.
Over the years various manufacturers began to appear, one of the more famous ones being Ransomes Automation, which were a British company, who developed chain and geared mowers. In Around 1902, Ransomes introduced a petrol engine mower which led the market until the First World War. The company is still a leading producer of mowers to this day.
After the First World War, there was a growth in the production of lawn mowers. More people were moving to the suburbs, which had homes with small gardens. During this period companies such as Atco and Qualcast began to become successful and still producing lawn mowers to this day.
Over the years there have been further developments with the mower, such as the invention of the rotary hover mower and the large sit on mowers that are used to tend for larger turfed areas. Although many of the original manufacturers may have disappeared, some of the companies still trade, which has helped the lawnmowers become a common site in most garden sheds.
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