Manufacturer Details
Howards of Bedford
The firm known from 1850 as James & Frederick Howard, later J. & F. Howard Ltd, owes its origins to a business established in Bedford in about 1813 by John Howard.
John retired in 1850, when his sons, James (1821-1889)and Frederick (1827-1915) took on the business and expanded it greatly. The Britannia Iron Works, which they opened in 1859, became one of the largest agricultural engineering works in the country.
The firm was known especially for its ploughs. James had developed a new design of iron plough in 1840, and by 1851 they were already offering about ten types of plough. Howards’ Champion ploughs became one of the leading brands of plough in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
As well as ploughs, Howards produced a wide range of implements, including rollers, harrows, cultivators, horse hoes, horse gear, barn machinery, carts and steam engines. In 1853 they started manufacturing steam cultivating equipment to the designs of William Smith of Woolston. This system of steam ploughing, often known as the roundabout system, used one portable steam engine drawing a continuous cable round the field to take the plough across. The Howards added their own patented improvements to Smith’s system, but ultimately this type of steam ploughing did not compete successfully with the Fowler system.
In the later years of the nineteenth century, horse rakes, baling presses and portable light railway equipment were added to the firm’s product range.
After the First World War, Howards became a constituent company of Agricultural & General Engineers Ltd, and closed in 1932 when that larger organization collapsed.
John retired in 1850, when his sons, James (1821-1889)and Frederick (1827-1915) took on the business and expanded it greatly. The Britannia Iron Works, which they opened in 1859, became one of the largest agricultural engineering works in the country.
The firm was known especially for its ploughs. James had developed a new design of iron plough in 1840, and by 1851 they were already offering about ten types of plough. Howards’ Champion ploughs became one of the leading brands of plough in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
As well as ploughs, Howards produced a wide range of implements, including rollers, harrows, cultivators, horse hoes, horse gear, barn machinery, carts and steam engines. In 1853 they started manufacturing steam cultivating equipment to the designs of William Smith of Woolston. This system of steam ploughing, often known as the roundabout system, used one portable steam engine drawing a continuous cable round the field to take the plough across. The Howards added their own patented improvements to Smith’s system, but ultimately this type of steam ploughing did not compete successfully with the Fowler system.
In the later years of the nineteenth century, horse rakes, baling presses and portable light railway equipment were added to the firm’s product range.
After the First World War, Howards became a constituent company of Agricultural & General Engineers Ltd, and closed in 1932 when that larger organization collapsed.
The above text came from the Reading university website, I am going to contact them and see if they can give me any more information. if you want the exact page CLICK HERE.
and as ever if you have any information please contact ME by clicking there. I would also appreciate if you donated some money via paypal so we can continue to further our research, Thankyou.
Hi Howardees
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to say that I still haven't received a reply from Reading Uni, I will however wait on thair reply and post it ASAP as I always do.
I hope that we do get some information from them as it is imperitive to our work on the plough, I also hope that the blog helps you of course.
Anyway that is all for now, check back once a week in case I have any more information.
Cameron