Lawn Mowers

A lawn mower, alternately spelled lawnmower, is a device which by means of one or more revolving blades is used to cut grass or other plants to an even length. more...

Home
Building & Hardware
Dining & Bar
Electrical & Solar
Food & Wine
Heating, Cooling & Air
Home Security
Kitchen
Major Appliances
Outdoor Power Equipment
Chainsaws
Chippers, Shredders &...
Edgers
Engines, Multi-Purpose
Hedge Trimmers
Lawn Mowers
Parts & Accessories
Ariens
Bolens
Briggs & Stratton
Cadet
Craftsman
Gravely
Honda
John Deere
Kohler
Lawn-Boy
MTD
Murray
Onan
Other Parts & Accessories
Simplicity
Snapper
Tecumseh
Toro
Wheel Horse
Riding Mowers
Cadet Mowers
Craftsman Mowers
Gravely Mowers
John Deere Mowers
Kubota Mowers
MTD Mowers
Other Riding Mowers
Simplicity Mowers
Toro Mowers
Wheel Horse Mowers
Walk-Behind Mowers
Leaf Blowers & Vacuums
Manuals & Guides
Other Outdoor Power...
Pressure Washers
Snow Blowers
String Trimmers
Tillers
Plumbing & Fixtures
Tools
Vacuum Cleaners &...
Wholesale Lots
Window Treatments

History

The idea of a machine to cut grass was conceived in Gloucestershire, England around 1830 by freelance engineer Edwin Beard Budding. Formerly a carpenter at Chalford, he was possibly inspired by a rotary cutter designed to shear the nap off woollen cloth at Brimscombe Mill, more accurately than the hand shears hitherto in use. Budding's mower was designed primarily to cut the lawn on sports grounds and expansive gardens as a superior alternative to the scythe. His patent of 25 October 1830 described "a new combination and application of machinery for the purpose of cropping or shearing the vegetable surfaces of lawns, grass-plats and pleasure grounds." The patent went on to state, "country gentlemen may find in using my machine themselves an amusing, useful and healthy exercise."

In an agreement between John Ferrebee and Edwin Budding dated May 18, 1830, Ferrebee paid the costs of development, obtained letters of patent and acquired rights to manufacture, sell and license other manufacturers in the production of lawnmowers. (The agreement is housed in the Stroud Museum).

One of the first Budding and Ferrabee machines was used in Regent's Park Zoological Gardens in London, in 1831. It took ten years and further innovations to create a machine that could be worked by donkey or horse power, and sixty years before a steam-powered lawnmower was built.

Manufacture of lawn mowers began in the 1850s. By 1862, Farrabee's company was making eight models in various roller sizes up to 900 mm (36 inches). He manufactured over five thousand machines until production ceased in 1863. Thomas Green produced the first chain driven mower in 1859, named the Silens Messor. Around 1900, one of the best known English machines was the Ransomes' Automaton, available in chain- or gear-driven models. JP Engineering of Leicester, founded after World War I, produced a range of very popular chain driven mowers. About this time, an operator could ride behind animals that pulled the large machines. These were the first riding mowers.

The rise in popularity of sports such as lawn tennis, croquet, cricket, football and rugby helped prompt the spread of the invention. Lawn mowers became a more efficient alternative to simply relying on gardeners wielding the scythe (which, when placed in incompetent hands, left unsightly scars on and in the ground) or bare spaces caused by domesticated grazing animals.

James Sumner of Lancashire patented the first steam-powered lawnmower patented in 1893. His machine burned petrol and/or paraffin oil (kerosene) as a fuel. After numerous advances, the machines were sold by the Stott Fertilizer and Insecticide company of Manchester and later, the Sumner's took over sales. The company they controlled was called the Leyland Steam Motor Company. Numerous manufacturers entered the field with gasoline-driven mowers after the turn of the century.

Read more at Wikipedia.org