Reminiscences of George Biddell

George A. Biddell worked at Ransomes in Ipswich from 1840 to 1876. In 1895 he was asked to record some of his memories of his time working at the factory. This resulted in a 14 page typed document that can be found in The Ransome's archives.

The document contains the following section:

"It was during April in the year 1840 when I first came to the Foundry on probation, with the idea of being an apprentice. I had been in poor health some time before and it was thought that I should not be strong enough for the work, but I was, and eventually became apprenticed in the following November, being bound for seven years. I have the Indentures by me now.

The principal work being done then by the Firm was fitting up Budding's Lawn Mowers and also a trade in Gardner's Turnip Cutters and in 'UL' Plough Irons and also in fixing Palisadings; also in Horse Thrashing Machines and Chaff Cutters. I may mention that Garner was a Banbury man and Budding came from Stroud. Ransomes & Sims also did a large trade in."

The phrase "fitting up" is interesting as it implies some kind of assembly rather than manufacture.

In 1840, Budding's Patent Lawnmowers were still covered by the original 1830 patent which was in force for 14 years. Copies of the patent, printed in 1830, attest that , John Ferrabee & Co. would be the sole manufacturers of the lawnmower. Early Ferrabee advertisements state they are the only manufacturer while those published by Ransomes during this period (and up to the early 1850s) simply claim that they are agents to sell them. In this context it is reasonable to infer that "fitting up" means assembling parts supplied from Ferrabee's Phoenix Ironworks in Stroud to the Ransomes factory in Ipswich. 

The first lawnmowers known to have been made by any company other than Ferrabee were those from Shanks of Arbroath in 1841/2. At that time Scotland was outside the jurisdiction of English Patents. Samuelson & Co. of Banbury was the first English company after John Ferrabee to manufacture Budding's Mowers, starting in around 1850. The Gardiner's Turnip Cutters mentioned by Biddell were manufactured by Ransomes under license from Samuelson.

It seems from an original photograph in The Ransome's archives that Ransomes & Sims' first Ipswich-built lawnmower was a Ferrabee Registered improved design, as built by Ferrabee's from 1852. Ransomes & Sims introduced a totally new pattern mower - which they called "The Improved" - in 1861.