Object number
62/524
Title
Reversible plough, Butterfly plough,
Creator
Description
This one way reversible plough, also called a 'butterfly' plough, was made by Richard Hornsby & Sons Ltd., of Grantham. It has two mouldboards attached to the beam, so that when one is engaged on one side of the plough, the other is lifted up in the air.
Physical description
1 reversible plough: metal; good condition
Label Text
10. Reversible Plough by R.Hornsby and Sons Ltd, Grantham, c.1900. Another way of achieving reversibility on a plough was to have the two plough bodies inverted, one over the other, and mounted on a swivelling beam. At the end of each furrow, the ploughman released a catch on the handle which allowed the beam to turn over, bringing the other plough body into play. These were sometimes referred to as butterfly ploughs. The firm of Richard Hornsby and Sons Ltd began life as Seaman and Hornsby of the Spittlegate Ironworks, Grantham, in 1815 making horse powered threshing machines amongst other things. On Richard Hornsby's death in 1864, the business was continued by his three sons, Richard, James and William. A large number of patented improvements to steam engines, harvesting machinery and a wide range of agricultural equipment were developed and the firm grew to the point where by the end of the nineteenth century it had 1,500 employees on a 17 acre site in Grantham. 62/524.
Archival history
MERL 'Handwritten catalogue' form – 'PLOUGH (REVERSIBLE) // One-way reversible plough made by Hornsby of Grantham. (?)'
Production place
Grantham
Production date
1900 - 1900
Object name
Material
Dimensions
- Length 2800 mm
- Length 1080 mm
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_13378.tif - High resolution image
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_13379.tif - High resolution image
