Salesman's sample of Budding Lawn Mower

I had a very pleasant surprise in June this year when I was consulted by Stroud Museum regarding a Budding lawn mower they had been offered, with only two original Budding mowers existing, was this going to be the third. When a photograph was received it appeared the main roller was wooden with a degree of woodworm, there was nothing in the photo to give an idea of scale, so unless the woodworm were as thick as my finger, it became clear it was not a full-size mower.

I was subsequently told that it fits into a Sainsbury's bag for life.

In July I met with the owner who travelled down from Scotland to meet me at her London flat where the mower was kept, all was revealed, it was a model, approximately one third scale measuring 255mm (10”) high and 350mm (14”) in length, it was in a Sainsburys bag for life!  

The owner found the mower when clearing her late Aunts flat, her late Uncle being the nephew of Harold Randall from whom he inherited the mower. I do know of Harold Randall (1892-1973) who like me had a keen interest in the Ferrabee/Budding story. Randall was connected to the Ferrabee family having married Gladys Ferrabee in 1923 the Great Granddaughter of John Ferrabee who manufactured the very first lawnmower in partnership with Edwin Budding and financed his 1830 patent.

Randall did mention the model in a lecture he gave in Stroud in Autumn 1966.

There is evidence that Budding/Ferrabee used a model for sales and advertising, one was exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Society show in Norwich in 1849 and at a Banbury show in 1850. Earlier records are hard to trace, but the model probably dates from the early 1830s when the first mowers were being sold.

In the absence of major railway networks, new mowers were transported by canal with the model no doubt travelling in a horse drawn carriage.

It appears to be made from Bronze/Gun Metal with the large and intermediate rollers made of wood, I would assume for lightness or ease of construction. The detail is excellent with the same early clutch mechanism (see images) as seen on the earliest of the two surviving Budding mowers No. 1623 which we currently have on display. The large drive gear on the rear roller is solid rather than spoked no doubt to accommodate the very small clutch fixings more easily, see below. All parts of the model operate which would have given potential customers an understanding of how it worked.

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Salesman's sample

Full size mower

The remnants of paint on the handles of the model confirms my thoughts that the original Budding mowers were a light Blue/Green with ornate decoration in a darker colour, not bright green and red as some believe. A few years ago, I discovered an early pastel drawing of Buddings mower, the model now confirms my earlier thoughts, see images below.

Sketch from 1830s

Handle of salesman's sample

The model is the most significant Budding find for nearly 100 years with the oldest full-size Budding discovered in 1932 presently on loan to our museum.

It is fitting that the model should be displayed in Stroud Museum along with the Ferrabee lawn mower that Harold Randall donated to them many years ago, I was pleased to be in control of the model for just one day before delivering it personally to Stroud.

I collaborate closely with the curators at Stroud Museum giving advice on early lawn mower history and they will let me know when the model goes on display.

The oldest known full-size Budding mower, one of only two remaining examples and owned by Ransome Jacobsen Ltd, has been on display during 2025 at the Museum of Gardening in Hassocks.

     A bottle of Budding beer for scale, perhaps more appropriate than a Sainsburys bag for life!