Vintage Horticultural and Garden Machinery Club

Villiersparts are out of replacements, expressed surprise at the type of unit in my magneto. Definitely not original so looks as if I am looking for another engine.

The stallholder smiled and said ‘If you can identify that, I will reduce the price’, so I surprised him and said what it was, his surprise didn’t reduce it much though.
Some years ago I found an Edwardian postcard of a man in a field hitting his scythe with a hammer. That set me off on a journey of research and I discovered in the history of…[Read more]

Jensales do a reproduction Johnson Iron Horse manual which you can download, but it is not cheap.

Thanks Andrew for the information, sounds like a useful machine for restoring lawns. What is the best time of year to use it to improve the sward?

A picture would help.
There was a Johnson Iron horse which is a small air cooled engine often attached to a generator, these were made in America and I believe manuals are available in the US if you search on the web.

Thanks for your help with dating info, I believe the mower was originally used in the grounds of the local university

This is my Ransomes Mk10 no B3413 which I believe also dates to around 1939 and which I found recently in the next village. It is all freed up but I have not had it running yet.
I have not been able to find any original pre war mower catalogues although there is/was someone in Australia reproducing some of the older ones and I got a nice copy of a…[Read more]

If you go to the photo gallery section of the VHGMC website and put in ‘seed drills’ you can get up pictures of a Fedex drill like yours. There are a lot of local firms who made similar drills about the turn of the 20th century. I repaired the woodwork of my Horace Fuller drill by building it around the brush and axle as I couldn’t move the brush…[Read more]

For what it’s worth, my Barford Scythe has BARFORD GRANTHAM cast into the wheels. I didn’t know it was a ‘Councillor’ until I joined this site a few years ago.
Is it possible that when Barfords produced a scythe attachment for the Atom they needed to differentiate it from the larger Power Scythe which they then named the Councillor as local…[Read more]

Your lawn roller has very ornate castings and is probably late 19th or early 20th century. There are quite a few collectors of lawn rollers and also they display well with lawnmowers of similar age. The only problem is the weight!
Are you sure there is no name on the castings or the handle or perhaps evidence of a missing label.

Thanks for clarifying about the plough Andyfrost.

That’s a very nice photo Autophil, where and when was it taken? I see all the autocultos have the torpedo type tank so presumably date to around the 1940’s and the ‘ X’ series.
My machine had been stuck in the back of the shed for some time waiting until I could get implements to go with it, so…[Read more]

There is what is probably a model L advertised in this month’s Cultivator magazine in the New Forest. Shame it is lockdown and a long way or I would have had it.
I am interested in Andy’s comments about the plough as I have just obtained a plough for my model EX but without the bits to connect it up to the machine so any ideas on hitching it up…[Read more]

Thanks for a nice calendar with interesting photos

Hi Alan,
I suspect the name changed over the years as I have a faccimile copy of the Country Gentlemens annual Catalogue dated 1894 produced by the C.G.A. It is full of contemporary adverts with prices, just like the annual price books of the 1950’s and 60’s. It is also stated that it is the second annual catalogue they had produced—hence 1893…[Read more]

Thanks for the warning, I haven’t tried to run it yet, got it as a possible replacement for the engine on the Landmaster Stoic which seems to have lost its spark.

Why not post an ad in the VHGMC newsletter, are you looking for any attachments or those other than the usual finger bar mower.