1850s

The lawn mower was invented by Edwin Budding in 1830 and the first machines were made by him and his business partner John Ferrabee in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

This mower was made around 25 years later but is similar to the first Budding designs from the 1830s. Like the very first mowers it features basic gear drive with a narrow rear roller. One of the main differences over earlier designs is that the front roller is in front of the cutting cylinder rather than between the cylinder and rear roller. The cutting height was adjusted by raising or lowering the front jockey wheels. There was no adjustment possible to the handles. Despite this it is still surprising how little the basic design of the cylinder lawn mower has changed in the past 170 years.