People at the cutting edge: lawnmower designers - A power struggle

A power struggle

The growing development of urban public parks and sporting facilities fuelled the need for efficient, mainly wide, mowing machines, and the popularity of the pony machines continued well into the 20th century, at places such as the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where they remained in use until the 1960s. However, some inventors looked to new ways of powering the machines.

Advertisement for the Leyland Steam Lawn Mower and Roller, designed in the 1890s. Image courtesy of the Garden Museum.In 1893 James Sumner, a Lancashire blacksmith, patented a steam-powered mower, manufactured by the Leyland Steam Motor Company, which was to become British Leyland.  In 1897 two models were offered for sale, the largest costing £90. However, the development of the internal combustion engine and petrol-powered mowers won through.

Ransomes produced one of the first in 1902, used by Cadbury's at Bourneville. Charles Henry Pugh Company Ltd. from Birmingham followed. In 1901 the firm had turned its attention to motor cycles, taking in the Atlas Chain Company and using its initials ATCO as a trade name. By 1921 they produced the ATCO motor mower.  Just 900 of the 22-inch machines were made, each costing £75.

1920s or early 1930s advertisement for an ATCO lawnmower. Image courtesy of the Garden Museum.Within five years, annual production had accelerated to tens of thousands. Prices were cut and a range of sizes was available, making the ‘Standard' the first truly mass-produced motor mower. ATCO introduced the first after-care service for its customers, with service branches being established in 1922. The machines were light, and this made transportation for servicing much easier.

Other makers entered the market, such as Dennis Brothers of Guilford, J.P. Engineering of Leicester, and Qualcast, with models costing less than £15. Electrically driven mowers were tried out at this time, but the most striking technical advance came with the introduction of the first successful rotary mower, the Rotosythe, introduced in 1933. Developed by Power Specialities of Maidenhead and later acquired by J.E. Shay of Basingstoke, it utilised a disc or blade that spun horizontally under a safety hood and proved useful on rough, coarse or wet grass.