Lawn mower
Edwin Budding’s cylinder mower of 1830 – built after a machine that cropped the nap of cloth.
Before the mower, lawns were cut with a scythe, heavy skilled work. The engineer Edwin Budding in Stroud saw how a machine cropped the nap of cloth evenly and built a mower on the same principle.
The patent of 1830 promised that the machine would provide healthy exercise. The mower made the smooth lawn possible for ordinary gardens and for sports grounds.
Materials: Cast iron, wrought steel, wood
Manufacture: Cast and forged parts with gears; made under licence by Ransomes of Ipswich among others.
A cylinder of spiral blades cutting against a fixed blade.
Gears driving the cutter from the wheels.
A heavy cast-iron construction and the maker’s name cast in.