New Mower History Section

Today, we launched our new section dedicated to the origins of the lawnmower, its invention, and the early developments that followed.

The aim is to create a growing archive of information such as photographs, magazine and news articles, advertisements, patents, and other documents that help tell this important story.

Much of the basic research for this has been completed by Paul Harvey during countless hours of painstaking work. He has already unearthed hundreds of pieces of information and continues to find new items.

In fact, Paul found so much information that it wasn't practical to present it all in one go. Instead, for this initial launch we have concentrated in the years leading up to and just after the invention of the mower. The information in this first phase is presented as a "Timeline" and we expect this will form the basis of future sections. 

Everything that Paul has found will be published on this site soon, covering the period up to the 1860s. We expect that it will be presented in such a way that club members and site visitors can search for specific dates and references, for example by name, manufacturer, type of document, publication and so on.

Having worked with Paul to get this far I know how much time and effort he has put into this project. I am sure that all members of the club will want to join me in thanking Paul for this because it is, as far as I know, the first time anyone has tried to tell this important story (to us enthusiasts at least) in such a detailed way.

However, I also know that Paul has not been working in isolation and that several other members have either offered advice, provided copies of their own research, or sent him copies (or links) to some of the information he has collated. Thank you for everyone who has helped so far.

The project is not finished - it may be unending - and this is where anyone reading this can help.

Stories like this can evolve and adapt as new information comes to light. One of the best things about presenting this type of information on line is that the archive can grown as quickly or slowly as information becomes available.

If you have some information that you would like to be included on the site, please let Paul know and we will do our best to add it. Similarly, although everything has been checked, there is always the chance of a simple error such as a "typo". If you spot anything, however minor, please let us know by email or in the comments below this post and we will put it right.