Articles - Vintage Horticultural and Garden Machinery Club

People, tools and places, their history

November 7, 2019December 16, 2018 by Alan

One element that appears when researching vintage garden equipment is the names associated with that particular item. These names may be of the designer, manufacturer, importer, company owner, it may even be a name on a long-forgotten patent. Sometimes with… Continue Reading

Recycling Machinery

November 7, 2019October 27, 2018 by Alan

Horticultural equipment collectors are, in my opinion, quite good at recycling in order to keep their hobby rolling along. One only has to look at a collector’s spares heap or the garage workbench with the aroma of WD40, a line… Continue Reading

Every Machine Has a History

November 7, 2019July 25, 2018 by Alan

One of the pleasures, or depending on ones view it could be a fault, of any hobby is gathering up new items whether they are needed or not. For instance a model railway enthusiast may start with a single train… Continue Reading

Machines in the North East – 1988

November 7, 2019June 14, 2018 by Alan

This month our search for machinery takes us to the north-east of the UK, to be more precise it’s to a now defunct chain of home improvement stores by the name of Dickens. By all accounts Dickens was a fantastic… Continue Reading

Then and Now – 1910

November 7, 2019April 29, 2018 by Alan

Our latest Then & Now picture is from 1910 and features Ashton’s of East Sheen. The sign in the window announcing the stock of Garden Tools & Requisites and the array of merchandise on the pavement tells us that they… Continue Reading

What was on sale in 1960….

November 7, 2019March 16, 2018 by Alan

1960 is our year of choice for this article, it was the year that The Beatles was officially named and formed, the Mark 1 Mini had only just recently been introduced and in space exploration the first probe was launched… Continue Reading

Howard Bantam 1950

November 7, 2019February 22, 2018 by Alan

Humour can capture the attention of the prospective customer far easier than any serious advertising might. All from 1950 are the following four adverts for the Howard Rotavator ‘Bantam’. Each is carefully crafted to highlight the difficulties of gardening that… Continue Reading

G. D. Mountfield Adverts

November 7, 2019January 20, 2018 by Alan

G.D.Mountfield of Maidenhead are well known to be associated with a large range of horticultural machinery and accordingly the company did a vast amount of advertising. Mountfield started their ‘proper’ marketing in 1967 after the appointment of Robinson Scotland and… Continue Reading

Nobby Fletcher and Bolens

November 7, 2019December 12, 2017 by Alan

Nobby Fletcher is a fictitious character who appeared in a Bolens advert in 1970, reproduced below, promoting the assets of owning a Bolens garden tractor. Nobby Fletcher appears to be somewhat of a dogsbody working five and a half days… Continue Reading

Ginge mowers and tools

November 7, 2019November 13, 2017 by Alan

During the late 1960’s a hugely successful Danish manufacturer by the full name of Ginge-Raadvad was launching their range of lawn mowers and garden tools into the UK market. Marketed as Ginge (pronounced Ging-ha) nowadays it is a little known… Continue Reading