MP053: Folbate J2

The Folbate J2 is a typical example of the sort of lawn mower that was popular during the 1950s and 1960s. It was a low-cost machine that was designed for use on small lawns by the "weekend" gardener. It was available with 10" and 12" cutting widths.

Follows & Bate was the first company to manufacture a side wheel lawn mower, the Climax, in 1869. The company became very successful and for many years it produced a wide range of hand sidewheel and roller mowers. These were manufactured under its own name and for other companies to sell as their own brands through shops or mail order catalogues.

As far as is known, many of the mowers sold as "British Made" or "Made In England" during the first part of the 20th century were in fact made by Follows & Bate.

The company was taken over by Qualcast in 1938. The new owner recognised that the Follows & Bate name still had a loyal following among customers. In the post-1945 period it began to produce mowers with the "Folbate" (from Follows & Bate) name.

The Folbate J2 is a typical sidewheel mower of the 1950s and 1960s. It is manufactured from a combination of cast iron, pressed steel and machined components. One of the advantages of the sidewheel design is that relatively few parts are required compared to roller mowers with the same cutting width. This kept the weight and price down, both of which appealed to a certain part of the market.

Mowers like the Folbate J2 were aimed directly at the mass market and the type of gardener who wanted a simple, low cost mower to cut a small area of lawn once or twice a week. These people did not want the finesse offered by more expensive models and simply wanted a cheap and easy way of cutting their lawn with the least amount of fuss. Many manufacturers offered similar models during the same period.

Qualcast continued to manufacture a number of models under the "Folbate" name until 1966. Some of the models were then sold under the Suffolk name for a few more years.

The Folbate J2 was a highly popular machine during the 1950s and many examples have survived to the present day.  It is not particularly rare but the model is of interest to collectors because of the connection with the company that invented the sidewheel mower.