Richard Hornsby & Sons
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| Former type | Private |
|---|---|
| Fate | Taken over |
| Successor | Ruston & Hornsby |
| Founded | 1828 |
| Founder(s) | Richard Hornsby |
| Defunct | 1918 |
| Headquarters | Grantham, Lincolnshire |
| Industry | Agricultural engineering |
| Products | Engines, Traction engine |
Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918.
Contents |
[edit] Formation
The company bearing the name of Richard Hornsby (1790–1864), the agricultural engineer, was founded when Richard opened a blacksmithy in Grantham, Lincolnshire in 1815 with Richard Seaman, after joining Seaman's business in 1810. The company became Richard Hornsby & Sons in 1828, when Richard bought out his partner's ownership, when Seaman retired.
[edit] Product range and inventions
R. Hornsby & Sons grew into a major manufacturer of agricultural machinery, at their Spittle Gate Works. The firm went on to produce steam engines used to drive threshing machines and other equipment such as traction engines; their portable steam engine was one of their most important products and the market leader. A farm was procured nearby, where all their new products were tested before being produced.
Later a chain-track was added to a paraffin-engined tractor. It had been developed by Hornsby's chief engineer (and managing director), David Roberts, and was patented in July 1904. The following year Roberts demonstrated his tractor unofficially to the British Army's Mechanical Transport Committee, and a formal demonstration was staged at Grantham in February 1906, at which the machine outperformed a conventional wheeled tractor. A lightweight version of the tracks was also fitted to a Rochet-Schneider motor car.
In July 1907 an improved chain-track was demonstrated at the British Army's HQ at Aldershot. Roberts explained that he had plans for a trailer, also fitted with a chain-track, on which a gun could be mounted. It was at this trial that British soldiers gave the tractor the nickname "caterpillar", an expression that has stuck ever since. Roberts completed his tracked trailer and demonstrated it to the Royal Artillery in Novemmber of the same year.
There was a further demonstration at Aldershot in 1908, at which King Edward VII was present. The tractor and trailer with dummy gun in place performed impressively, crossing various types of obstacles and difficult ground, and became national news. A horse team that became bogged down was easily hauled out of the mud by Roberts's machine. The Motor Transport Committee was amongst those that considered the system to have great potential. A newspaper even suggested that this was "the germ of a land fighting unit when men will fight behind iron walls".
A third machine was tested at Aldershot in May 1910, easily towing a 60-pounder gun and its ammunition over rough ground. It was here that Major W.E. Donohue of the Mechanical Transport Committee suggested to Roberts that a single tractor unit might be fitted with a gun and bulletproof shields, thus creating, if not a tank, at least a sort of self-propelled gun. Roberts, by now becoming disillusioned, did not pursue the idea and later expressed regret at not having done so.
A further trial took place in North Wales. After contests between the No. 3 machine and horse teams, artillery officers gave a less favourable opinion of the tractor, observing that it was underpowered. An attempt was made to remedy the problem by converting it to run on petrol, a move that increased the Brake Horse Power to 105.
The Mechanical Transport Committee remained convinced of the tractor's possibilities, provided it was used in careful conjunction with horse teams. The Royal Artillery saw things differently. The Director of Artillery, Brigadier General Stanley von Donop, chose to emphasise the tractor's shortcomings and was unenthusiastic. (von Donop appears to have suffered from inter-departmental jealousy, a common problem in armies at the time. When later asked to assist in the development of the Tank, he was similarly protective of his territory and less than helpful)
By 1911, the prospects for Roberts's machine were fading. The War Office had never been greatly interested, and refused the Mechanical Transport Committee permission to buy a Holt Tractor for evaluation. Von Donop continued to be obstructive. Roberts had spent 5 years on the project, barely covering his development costs with the fees received from the Army, and had secured no orders, either military or civilian. He sold the patents to the Holt Manufacturing Company in America for £4,000. Learning of the Hornsby's nickname, Holt registered "Caterpillar" as a trademark in 1911. Holts later merged with C.L. Best and became The Caterpillar Tractor Company.
Great Britain had missed the opportunity to establish a lead in tracked vehicle technology and, perhaps, produce the world's first practical Tank. When the First World War broke out, Britain had to purchase caterpillar tractors from Holt to tow the Army's heavy guns, and the designers of the Tank had to start from scratch, basing their ideas on imported American machines.
Roberts's chain-track played no direct part in the development of the Tank, although Lt-Col. R.E.B. Crompton, who later had an important role in its creation, had been present at some of the early trials and was influenced to some extent by the Hornsby. In the event, the first British Tanks had no sprung suspension, and the track plates were an improved version of those of another American vehicle, the Bullock tractor. Central to British Tank development was William Foster & Co., agricultural machinery manufacturers, based at Lincoln, only about 25 miles from Hornsby's.
[edit] First commercial film
Trials featuring the Hornsby Tractor and the Rochet-Schneider were the subject of a film that was used in an attempt to promote sales and also shown in cinemas. Although cinema advertisements had been produced since the late 1890s, this is believed to be the first promotional film of appreciable length. There was also a screening in the presence of senior British officers and foreign military attachés:
[edit] Hornsby Akroyd Engine
Main article: Hornsby-Akroyd oil engine
Work with Herbert Akroyd Stuart in the 1890s lead to the world's first commercial heavy oil engines being made in Grantham (from 8 July 1892). Other larger engineering companies had been offered the option of manufacturing the engine, but they saw it as a threat to their business instead. Only Hornsbys saw its possibilities. The first one was sold to the Newport Sanitary Authority (later to be re-bought by Hornsbys and displayed in their office). Later in 1892, T.H. Barton at Hornsbys replaced the engine's vaporiser with a cylinder head, increased the compression ratio, and the engine ran on compression alone for six hours; the first time this had been achieved. This was the first recognisable 'diesel engine', although it was built several years before Rudolf Diesel built his first prototype engines. 32,417 of the vapourising oil ('hot-bulb') engines were made by Hornsbys. They would provide electricity for lighting the Taj Mahal, Rock of Gibraltar, Statue of Liberty (chosen after Hornsbys won the oil engine prize at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893), many lighthouses and for powering Marconi's first transatlantic radio broadcast.
[edit] First tractor
Hornsbys are credited with producing and selling the first oil-engined tractor (similar to modern-day tractors) in Britain. The Hornsby-Akroyd Patent Safety Oil Traction Engine was made in 1896 with a 20hp engine. In 1897, it was bought by Mr Locke-King, and this is the first recorded sale of a tractor in Britain. Also in that year it won a Silver Medal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. That tractor would later be returned to the factory and fitted with a caterpillar track.
[edit] Ownership
After Richard's death in 1864, the firm was owned by his son, also Richard. He died at the early age of 50, quite suddenly, in 1877. The company became a public company, being valued at £235,000. Employing about 1,400 workers, it was managed by the two other sons - James and William. Throughout the First World War, Hornsbys were seconded to producing munitions and engines for the Admiralty. This left them little room for marketing or manufacturing other products - often needing years of development. The management realised their future was in doubt, so looked for a suitable (and preferably nearby) company to amalgamate with, choosing Ruston. On 11 September 1918 when employing about 3,000 people, the company was bought out by Ruston & Proctor of Lincoln.
[edit] See also
- History of the internal combustion engine
- Ruston (engine builder)
- Ruston, Proctor and Company
- Marshall, Sons & Co.
- Clayton & Shuttleworth
[edit] References
- One Hundred Years of Good Company (history of R & H), by Bernard Newman, 1957, Northumberland Press.
[edit] External links
- Grace's Guides
- Scale model of Hornsby Chain Tractor at 2005 Harrogate Model Engineering Show
- Richard Hornsby & Sons oil engine
- Dedication to the only commercially-sold Hornsby caterpillar crawler
- Tractors & Construction plant Wiki
[edit] Video clips
- 1908 promotional film (German subtitles) from the British Film Institute
- 1/3 scale Hornsby Tractor
- Scale model Hornsby Tractor at Stapleford Steam 2008 in Leicestershire
- 1905 Hornsby-Akroyd engine at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in 2005
