Agricultural History Review, Volume 56 Part 2 (2008), p. 237

The Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology, which has a distinguished record of publication, has an active interest in industrial history, hosting its own Industrial Archaeology Team. The Society has now brought together members of this team and others, who collectively have achieved a major contribution to industrial and business history within the confines of this deceptively brief book.

In the nineteenth century, Lincolnshire (especially Lincoln itself) became the centre of the British agricultural engineering industry, a position which it held until the late twentieth century. While there are recent histories of some of the larger firms (notably by Michael Lane), this book concentrates on the second-order firms, mostly of middling size. There are 13 chapters here, each devoted to a different firm. The only one whose name might be recognizable to a wider audience is Blackstone of Stamford, which achieved an international reputation for its mowing and haymaking machines before 1900, later moving heavily into oil engine building. Taken over by Listers in 1936, and subject to a series of post-war takeovers, Blackstone’s Stamford works finally closed in 2002.

The other firms examined here had a diverse history. They range from the small firm of William Howden of Boston, who made the first ‘portable’ (i.e., moveable with horses) steam engine in the county (in 1841), but produced only a further 11, because he didn’t wish to flood the market (!), to Blackstones and The Malleable of North Hykeham, which began with castings for agriculture, before moving into castings for the motor trade, finishing with about 2,000 employees in 2000. There are also chapters on William Cooke (peak employment about 100), which became the largest plough maker in Lincoln until its demise in the 1920s; on James Hart of Brigg, who never recovered from the technical failure of his steam engine at the 1854 Royal Show, and two of the surviving firms, J. and B.Edlington (Gainsborough) and T. and J.Fletcher (Winterton), which were larger in the past, but have adapted deftly to the twenty-first century. They also include a notable and still surviving dealer in farm machinery, Peacock and Binnington (Brigg).

Most of these firms had (or have) a long history. How far does this book illuminate the factors making for industrial success or failure? Only two may be said to have failed – Cooke and Hart. Cooke was a case of product inertia, continuing most of its pre-1914 lines until the 1930s, without much serious attempt to adapt their implements for use with tractors, and remaining craft-based until going into receivership in 1938. Apart from his disaster at the Royal Show, Hart, along with other small steam engine producers, was at a disadvantage as the nineteenth century wore on and competition from other Lincolnshire giants like Ruston, Hornsby, and Clayton and Shuttleworth proved irresistible. Whether Duckering failed or merely closed is a moot point. In the late nineteenth century the firm concentrated heavily on cast-iron kitchen ranges, for which presumably there was little chance of repeat orders once they were installed in the burgeoning Victorian terraces of Lincoln, and their sheer weight must have confined sales to the locality. The firm closed in 1926, although the foundry survived until 1957.

These failures apart, there were six firms which just closed, either due to the late twentieth-century corporate reorganizations (Blackstone, Malleable), or just dribbled to a halt – Coultas (1955), Hett (founder retired, 1895), Howden (founder left firm in 1859, though the works continued under a successor until 1876), and Tuxford (closed in 1880s; left no business records, but seems to have been more interested in innovation than profitability). These latter may be classed as the not unusual terminations of firms which begin well and enjoy a period of prosperity before either having their energies diverted into unprofitable lines or losing their entrepreneurial ‘animal spirits’ as Keynes described them.

Perhaps the most useful examples are to be drawn from the remainder of this list, who survive to this day – Edlington, Fletcher, Peacock and Binnington, and Rundle. The three manufacturers all achieved a good reputation for their products in the nineteenth century, and showed nimble footwork in thinking up new lines in the difficult times of the inter-war period. Continued product innovation and niche marketing seem to be the key to their survival. The non-manufacturer, Peacock and Binnington, has from the start taken as its motto ‘Service before Sales’, so that customers would stick to the firm in the future, and has prospered accordingly.

Each case is different, but overall the book is a testimony to the continuing importance of the ever-alert entrepreneurial spirit. Cooke might have survived with more of this at its disposal; Duckering and its successors definitely lacked it; the surviving firms certainly have it. Mere technical expertise is clearly not enough, as the histories of Hart, Howden and Tuxford demonstrate.

The variety of industrial and business experience highlighted in these pages is the more convincing because the authors possess a variety of backgrounds and experience. Some have personal knowledge of the firms concerned, and can thus flesh out the available documentary material. Others have come to the project through the SLHA and its industrial archaeology team, or have a strong interest in industrial and business history. They all manage to pack a large amount of information and thoughtful appraisal into a small compass and the result is an indispensable addition to the literature on the history of the British agricultural engineering industry.

The agricultural engineering industry was (and is) a protean one, ranging from the blacksmith to the multinational giant. It is difficult to trace all the individuals, partnerships and firms who have claimed to be agricultural engineers in the last two centuries. It is therefore particularly welcome that the editor has compiled a selected list of Lincolnshire implement makers (pp.144–49), comprising a total of 142 names and firms. This is the first time this has been done for any English county; it is to be hoped that other county historical societies may follow suit.

A final word on the quality of the book production; overall it is very high indeed, and the numerous and well-chosen illustrations are both useful and a delight to the eye.