Howards of Bedford Plough and Britannia ironworks Research: June 2012

Good Afternoon Howerders

I'm sorry I haven't been here but I was on holiday (I am nearing the end of the holiday now) and have searched on the off-chance that I could find more information about James and Frederick Howard and I found this interesting information.

Information posted in this post is located Here and I do not claim it as my own, the actual web page shall be listed at the bottom of the page.

Howard

Their are 3 companies with the Howard Name;

James and Fredrick Howard (Bedford) Ltd. UK
Howard Auto Cultivators Ltd.(formerly Austral Auto Cultivators) Based in NSW, Australia.
Howard Cultivators / Rotary Hoes, Then called Howard Rotavators Ltd, of Essex. Now Howard Machinery Ltd, of Harston, Norfolk.

History

James and Fredrick Howard (Bedford) Ltd.

Founded in 1813 they built Steam Traction engines, at Bedford in England, UK. After WWI they merged into Agricultural and General Engineering Ltd. (AGE) in 1919, stopping making steam machinery in 1930. AGE collapsed in the recession of 1932, and finally J and F Howard disappeared completely in 1935.

Howard Auto Cultivators Ltd.

Formerly Austral Auto Cultivators Pty Ltd Origin

The powered rotary hoe was invented by Arthur Clifford Howard who, in 1912, began experimenting with rotary tillage on his father's farm at Gilgandra, New South Wales, Australia. Initially using his father's steam tractor engine as a power source, he found that ground could be mechanically tilled without soil-packing occurring, as was the case with normal ploughing. His earliest designs threw the tilled soil sideways, until he improved his invention by designing an L-shaped blade mounted on widely spaced flanges fixed to a small-diameter rotor. With fellow apprentice Everard McCleary, he established a company to make his machine, but plans were interrupted by World War I. In 1919 Howard returned to Australia and resumed his design work, patenting a design with 5 rotary hoe cultivator blades and an internal combustion engine, in 1920.

In March 1922 Howard formed the company Austral Auto Cultivators Pty Ltd, which later became known as Howard Auto Cultivators. It was based in Northmead, a suburb of Sydney, from 1927. Finding it increasingly difficult to meet a growing worldwide demand, Howard travelled to the United Kingdom, founding the company Rotary Hoes Ltd in East Horndon, Essex, in July 1938. Branches of this new company subsequently opened in the United States of America, South Africa, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. It later became the holding company for Howard Rotavator Co. Ltd. The Howard Group of companies was acquired by the Danish Thrige Agro Group in 1985, and in December 2000 the Howard Group became a member ofKongskilde Industries of Soroe, Denmark.

Howard Machinery Ltd

Howard machinery Ltd was previously known as; Howard Cultivators / Rotary Hoes, Then called Howard Rotavators Ltd, of Essex. The firm was founded by Arthur Clifford Howard in 1938, as UK distributor for Austral Auto Cultivators Pty Ltd

It later became the holding company for the "Howard Rotavator Co. Ltd." The Howard Group of companies was acquired by the Danish Thrige Agro Group in 1985, and in December 2000 the Howard Group became a member of Kongskilde Industries of Soroe, Denmark.

The Rotavator

Unlike the Roto-tiller, the self propelled Howard Rotavator is equipped with a gearbox and driven forward, or held back, by its wheels. The gearbox enables the forward speed to be adjusted while the rotational speed of the tines remains constant which enables the operator to easily regulate the extent to which soil is engaged. For a two-wheel tractor Rotavator this greatly reduces the workload of the operator as compared to a roto-tiller. These Rotavators are generally more heavy duty, come in higher horsepower (4-18 horsepower or 3-13 kilowatts) with either petrol or diesel engines and can cover much more area per hour.

The trademarked word "Rotavator" is one of the longest palindromes in the English language.

Agricultural rotary tillers

Two-wheel tractor The higher horsepower "riding" rotavators cross out of the home garden category into farming category especially in Asia, Africa and South America, capable of preparing 1 hectare of land in 8 - 10 hours. These are also known as power tillers, walking tractors or two-wheel tractors. Years before they were considered only useful for rice growing areas, where they were fitted with steel cage-wheels for traction, but now the same are being used in both wetland and dryland farming all over the world. Compact, powerful and most importantly inexpensive, these agricultural rotary tillers are providing alternatives to four-wheel tractors and in the small farmers fields in developing countries are more economical than four-wheel tractors.

Four-wheel tractor Four-wheel tractor-drawn rotary tillers are attached to a three point linkage and are driven by a power take off shaft. Generally considered a secondary tillage implement the can and are commonly used for primary tillage. The also can also be used for inter-cultivation between and for cultivation between rows of vines, etc.

Clifford Cultivators Ltd acquired during the 1950's

Related Companies

John Fowler of Leeds, sold to T. W. Ward Ltd owners of Marshall's of Gainsborough.

Bolens importer in 1970's

Dowdeswell acquired some lines and premises in 1985, before they collapsed in 2000

Models

Howard Rotavator

Howard Platypus - Crawler tractor

Howard Dungle dozer - Muck loader conversion of a Fordson tractor.

Howard Rotapeds - an early low ground pressure system that used large linked pads to spread the load.

Holttum-Howard tractor

Mini-Gapper tool carrier

Howard Rotaspreader - Flail type Muck spreader

Howards of Bedford Plough and Britannia ironworks Research

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Sunday 24 June 2012

Bedford - a general history

Thursday 14 June 2012

I'm back from my holiday with more progress...