The Old Lawnmower Club
Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers
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MP055: Parkinson Villa

Parkinson Villa mower with unusual cast iron T handle.

The Villa was made in the 1870s and 1880s by W Parkinson of Ripon, Yorkshire.

The mower featured an unusual "T" handle manufactured from cast iron. This was mounted between the mower's cast iron side frames held by a single bolt on each side. This meant the handles could swing through a wide angle and be held at almost any position, presumably for the convenience and comfort of the operator. It may even have been possible to use the mower in reverse - by swinging the handle over and using it while standing in front of the machine to draw the mower towards the operator.

One drawback of the design was that the operator could not easily raise the front roller and cutting cylinder by pushing down on the handles as on mowers with fixed handles. This affected the ability to control the mower and its cutting action and may explain why mowers of this type were less popular than those with a more conventional design. Nevertheless the basic design was similar to models from manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic during the same period.

Another unusual design feature of the Villa was the use of a wicker grass box that looked not unlike a small basket. Although this may have given the mower a rather quaint appearance it is unlikely that the box would have been as sturdy or robust as the more usual combination of wood and metal used on other machines.

W Parkinson was based at the Studley Royal Lawn Mower Works in Ripon, Yorkshire, not too far from the more famous company of Thomas Green & Son of Leeds. The company introduced its first lawn mowers with the name Studley Royal Lawn Mowers in 1874 in a wide range of cutting sizes although Parkinson appears to have been granted some patents for mower designs as early as 1869.

The "T" handle of the Villa mower could be raised and lowered very easily for convenience and comfort although it did not provide as much control over the machine as a fixed set of handles.

The Villa was introduced in 1875 and was available in 8", 9", 10" and 12" cut. Prices in 1880 were 35s, 45s, 55s and 70s respectively for the "improved" version of the mower that incorporated a better adjustment for the cutting height compared to the first Villa designs. The company stopped manufacturing lawn mowers in the middle of the 1880s. Today, examples of Parkinson mowers are extremely rare.