MP060: Corse & Carne Motor Mower

The Corse & Carne motor mower was made in Bedford during the 1920s. And that is about all we know about it.

One of the delights of collecting mowers is the possibility of finding something completely new or different. For example, there are many mowers listed in Victorian catalogues and books where no examples have so far been found by collectors. This does not mean they do not exist but simply we have not found them yet. They may be out there or they may not.

More unusual still are examples of machines that can be "identified" but where there is no trace of the manufacturer.

One such example is the Corse & Carne. This mower was almost certainly made in the mid to late 1920s. We can tell this because it has a Villiers engine of that period. We also know that is was made in Bedford because this is cast into the aluminium chain cover along with the maker's name. So far we have not been able to find a trace of this name so we do not know if it was a short-lived business or whether it made other products or became part of a better-known company.

The mower appears to be a proper design unlike some other "unique" motor mowers that are clearly adaptations of other designs, for example where an engine is bolted onto a hand mower. 

It would be great if we could find out more about the Corse & Carne and who made it.