Richard Hornsby & Sons

The Hornsby Ackroyd tractor built in 1896 (note the Propane torch to pre heat the cylinder head) at Newby Hall Vintage Gathering 2009. This tractor is part of the R. Crawford collection from Lincolnshire

Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918.

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.

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 purchased nearby, where all their new products were tested before being produced.

Later a chain-track was added to an oil-engined tractor: the caterpillar track; these were developed and patented by Hornsby's chief engineer (and managing director), David Roberts, from July 1904. These were first used on tractors which served with the British Army towing artillery from 1910, but were later fitted to tanks which were used in the First World War from 1916. In 1909, a development model called the Little Caterpillar was demonstrated to the War Office. The army officers present at the demonstration believed it would frighten the horses.

First commercial film

In 1907, a chain-track was fitted to a 40hp petrol-engined car, and trialled in Aldershot, with film footage taken of the 15mph phenomenal machine. The film also showed a team of horses pulling a heavy carriage over a marsh. The horses, without much ceremony, sank. A caterpillar tractor then drove over the same marsh and avoided similarly sinking, and pulled out the horses. This film was shown to cinema audiences in summer 1908, who found it beguiling. It is thought to be the first (long-length) film made for commercial purposes. Shorter length film adverts had also been produced since the late 1890s.

Hornsby Akroyd engine

Work with Herbert Akroyd Stuart in the 1890s lead to the world's first commercial vaporizing oil engines being made in Grantham (from July 8 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 Pagnell Sanitary Authority (later to be bought back 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 Guglielmo Marconi's first trans-Atlantic radio broadcast.

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 September 11th 1918 when employing about 3,000 people, the company was bought out by Ruston Proctor of Lincoln, Lincolnshire.

Preserved Machines

Sir John William - Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 6759 - Note the unusual regulator design

As an Early producer the machines are rare. The Traction Engine Register 2008 only lists 15 Hornsby machines in the UK and several of these have been repatriated from abroad.

• Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 1851 - Portable engine of 1871 in the Science Museum store at Wroughton.
• Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 6557 - FL 2598 - Maggie of 1889 is a Traction engine version.
• Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 6759 - BS 8421 - Sir John William of 1889 is an 8 hp Traction engine that was shipped to Tasmania, but was repatriated to the UK and restored.
• Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 12359 - A Hornsby-Ackroyd Oil engined tractor of 1896 single cylinder 20 hp Oil Engine, looking like a steam engine at first glance and weighting in at 8 tons. This design was the first British built tractor with an engine. The machine cost the huge sum of £500 when built.

Preserved machines built by Richard Hornsby and Sons Ltd 15 listed in TER

Engine No.	Name	Build Date	Type	Weight	Power nhp	Reg No.	Owner	Image	Other info
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. UP11	-	circa 1870	PE	weight	power	-	Preston, Kent		Misc info
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 1531	-	1870	PE	? ton	? nhp	-	Owner ?	To add	At Preston Services 2010
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 1851	-	1871	PE	? ton	6 nhp	-	Science museum reserve collection		In storage at The Science Museum, Wroughton Large object store.
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 2727	-	date built	PE	weight	power	-	Owner ?, Waterford ROI		Engine number not Verified
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 2958	-	1875	PE	? ton	9 nhp	-	Newcastle Science Museum		May be at Beamish Open Air Museum in Farm yard
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 3444	-	1878	PE	weight	4 nhp	-	Owner ?, Stroud, Glos		Misc info
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 3948	-	1880	PE	weight	8 nhp	-	Owner ?, Blanford		Repatriated from Tasmainia c.1995
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 4171	-	1883	SP	weight	8 nhp	-	Owner ?, Taunton		Semi-portable , Imported from Mozambique
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 4451	-	? date built	PE	weight	power	-	Owner, Co. Laose ROI		Number requires verification
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 6239	-	1887	PE	weight	power	-	Owner Bucks		Repatriated from Australia, ?
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 6469	-	~ 1880	PE	? ton	? nhp	-	Owner ? location ?	Photo here	On Steam scenes
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 6557	Maggie	1889	TE	? ton	8 nhp	FL 2598	C. Hartwright, Abingdon Oxon	to add	At Welland Steam and Country Rally 2011
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 6759	Sir John William	1899	TE	? ton	8 nhp	BS 8421	Owner ?, Yorkshire		At Masham Steam Engine and Fair Organ Rally 2016
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 7297	Bob	1892	TE	10 ton	8 nhp	-	In Museum of Lincolnshire Life collection		Repatriated from Australia.
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 7815	-	1893	PE	? ton	6 nhp	-	Preston Services	To add	(T87) At Preston Services 2010
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 8230	-	-	PE	-	-	-	-	na	Misreported is no.8623
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 8278	-	1899	PE	? ton	10 nhp	-	Owner ?, Boston		Semi-portable originally
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. 8623	-	1903	PE	? ton	8 nhp	-	Owner ?, Cambridge		Reboilered by Gower no. 2478 in 1960.
Several more survive	in Australia	and New Zealand
Richard Hornsby and Sons no. ?	Name ?	date built	type	weight	power	Reg no.	Owner ?, location		Misc info

Key					References / sources
Machine types Key: PE = Portable engine, PLG = Ploughing Engine, RR = Road Roller, SM = Showmans engine, SW = Steam Wagon, TE = Traction Engine

See also

• Ruston (engine builder)
• List of Engine Manufacturers
• List of Steam Machinery Manufacturers
• Museums
• Collections
• Shows and Meets

References

• One Hundred Years of Good Company (history of R & H), by Bernard Newman, 1957, Northumberland Press.
• Newby show guide and display board with the tractor.

External links

• 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

Video clips

• 1905 Hornsby-Akroyd engine at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in 2005