Webb Witton

No I've not seen one either.

I do wonder if they were produced for a little longer than you suggest. I tend to think of the wooden T handle design as being predominately pre-war, with the metal ( tubular ? ) handles post-war. The Club's Lawnmower Directory gives a price in 1939 which implies some evidence of it at least being still available, if not actually manufactured. As far as one can tell from the illustrations it would seem to be the same design bar the handle. Interestingly the price remains the same over the time span - clearly a time of low or no inflation !

The apparent scarcity might be down to the way Webb marketed their products. Contemporary ironmongers and garden catalogues seem to mention Webb's less frequently than Ransomes, Greens, Qualcast and Shanks'. Although Webb did quite a lot of advertising and produced quite good brochures they do not appear to have have developed sales networks to the same extent as some of the others ? 

Thanks Colin, not sure about the handle theory as a 1933 ad as below shows the metal ones & the 'Green' image in initial post is from whats believed to be a 1935/6 brochure, earlies press ad I have found is 1932. 

Interestingly the image with the wooden handle comes from a small leaflet that doesn't include the De-luxe? Just the Witch, Wasp, Windsor & Witton, so may well be later that the one above?

Plot thickens !! Will do some more checking when I return from my expedition to find the Norwegian Blue :)

It seems as though the wooden T handle version was not around for long then. Certainly the later handle design was innovative in the early 'thirties. The price would have seemed quite high at the time and the Witton wouldn't  have looked very attractive on price alone, particularly compared with the Qualcast models. Customers would have needed to look very carefully at the specification to see any difference.

If we take it that Webb's first lawnmower was the sidewheel De Luxe I am hard pressed to think of another sidewheel that they manufactured. Is it not a little odd that they apparently did not produce another sidewheel after the Witton in subsequent years. Maybe the Witton did not sell that well and they decided to concentrate on the roller mowers.

The De luxe was a roller not sidewheel so my implication was that the Wooden handle came later.

Have now confirmed the Witton was being advertised as late as 1939 & ref to shop soiled ones being advertised in 1940.

Webb were very innovative producing I understand the first mowers with steel side plates, so the tubular handles are perhaps not such a surprise. 

Right, I must have mis-read or mis-understood something somewhere. Do we conclude then that the Witton is indeed the only sidewheel that Webb's produced ? I am of course not including the current WEH 30 from a completely different company.

Interestingly, I note from Companies House that one private individual, an engineer in his late seventies, is keeping the H.C.Webb and Co. name going, though not apparently doing anything.

So no one has seen a witton mower good job I restored one many moons ago complete with grassbox.

Thats great, lets see some images so all members can get to see it.

That's great Mike. Could we see some photo's please.

If you want to see images of said machine better ask Mr HALL NICELY.