WHEN John Selway began reading a copy of the Black Country Bugle back in September, he was flabbergasted when he came across a photo in Dianne Pye’s article ‘A Celebration of the Harvest’ (on page 9 of issue 891), of a portable steam engine that seemed very familiar.
Mr Shuker with his steam engine.
John was quickly in touch to tell us of the surprise that had greeted him. “I’ve been an avid reader of the Bugle for many years and it rarely lets me down, and more often than not keeps me on my toes with all the stories it has to offer. But I have to admit the experience I had on Thursday 24th September 2009 will take some beating. Dianne Pye invariably comes up with some cracking articles, and ‘A Celebration of the Harvest’ has to be one of her best; but then perhaps I’m biased.
When I saw the picture of the steam engine she had included in the feature I remember saying out loud, ‘That looks very much like my Humphries 1806’. Then I spotted the name of Shuker in the caption, whereupon I think I must have said ‘That is my Humphries 1806!’ I couldn’t believe my eyes, but I was convinced it was the same steam engine I had acquired back in 1972.
“With help from my friends at the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL based at Reading University) who have given me permission to reproduce and publish information relative to the Humphries Company, plus details of my own research, I present the travel log of a much loved Humphries 1806.
But before turning back the clock to 1893, the year the steam engine was built, I must first preface the story by referring to the Shuker family connection. The Shukers had a number of farms in the Stourton/Enville area, and from my previous research I had discovered that my ‘1806’ was delivered to this part of the world following a refit in 1940, and remained in situ until the end of the war in 1945. At the time the engine belonged to Mr W. T. Bowkley, an engine dealer and timber merchant from Belbroughton, Worcestershire, and in common with many dealers, he hired out engines for use on farms that didn’t have access to such facilities.
During its service in the district of Enville the engine was housed in a wood, and when not in use was hired out to other farms in the neighbourhood, hence the Shuker connection.
I am proud to say that my 1806 was built by Edward Humphries of Pershore, Worcestershire, one hundred and seventeen years ago in June 1893, and is a 6-horse powered model, the most popular produced by the firm.
Just six Humphries’ engines have survived over the years and there are still four in good working order. Edward Humphries only produced a small number in relation to other portable engine manufacturers, which supports my theory that the steam engine in the picture is my very own 1806.
“The price tag for the 6- horse power version was £242, a tidy sum for the 1890s, and it weighed approximately 55 cwt. In a catalogue dated 1875, which included Edward Humphries’ steam engines, there was a price list for the different capacity machines, a notice stating that printed instructions accompanied every steam engine, ‘Which if followed to the letter can be safely and effectually worked by any steady agricultural labourer’, and the following endorsement: ‘E. Humphries can with confidence recommend this class of engine (6 HP) to Landed Proprietors and Agriculturists, as being well adapted for all purposes to which steam as an agent can be applied, such as thrashing, grinding, etc. From its compactness and portability, it can be with ease removed from place to place by two horses. This engine will thrash out well and satisfactorily from 40 to 50 quarters per day of 10 hours.’ “The last Humphries portable which is still in good working order was built in 1900, and the production of these kind of engines seems to have come to an end about ten years after this date.
Details taken from the only surviving Humphries Works register (supplied by MERL), have revealed that the brand new engine was supplied to Mr J. Darby at High Park, Stourbridge. It was then sold to Mr Willetts of California in Birmingham and used for threshing until the end of 1918 when the 1806 was put to one side and mothballed after Willetts bought a Ford tractor. Ten years later 1806 was recalled to the front line when it was sold to Mr W. T.
Bowkley for use at his Belbroughton saw-mill and remained in active service until 1933 when it returned to the works of Edward Humphries for a major overhaul.
“There is a wonderfully descriptive tale about how the 1806 was brought from California to Belbroughton, which is in itself an interesting piece of social history. At the time Bowkley had no horses of his own and so hired some from a chap called Hodgekiss who was a keen breeder of shire horses at his Breach Farm, which was located not far from the sawmill in Belbroughton. The job of safely steering the 1806 along its journey was given to the sons of Bowkley and Hodgekiss, and because of the steam engine’s weight and the number of hills that stood in the way of its passage, it was decided to use three horses instead of two.
Colt “It seemed to be the ideal opportunity to break in a young colt, which incidentally had not been shod, and this was tethered alongside the two more experienced horses.
All went well until it started to rain as the 1806 was being hauled up Hunnington Hill.
Halfway up the incline there was panic as the horses began to lose their footing, and suddenly the engine began to slip backwards, eventually coming to rest against the roadside embankment. This naturally caused consternation with the horses, which by the time the heavy load came to standstill, were somewhat frantic. But following a period of calm and rest for the trio of shires, the ascent continued with George Bowkley leading the front horse and Hodgekiss’s son wielding a stick of encouragement — hard times for the horses indeed. Thankfully the long trek was completed without further incident, and the ‘green’ colt needed no further breaking in as a result of the experience, from which it became a fully fledged working shire at the stable.
“With the overhaul completed the 1806 continuedto work in the Belbroughton saw-mill until 1939 when it was again mothballed at the start of the Second World War. It was joined by another Humphries portable steam engine of a similar design and both eventually became surrounded by timber and forgotten, thus saving them from being scrapped for the war effort. In 1940 George Bowkley was asked by his dad to take a look at both engines and find out which could be brought back into service. The 1806 got the nod and after another major refit it was sent to work in the Enville area.
At the end of the war it returned to the saw-mill and was belted up to a horizontal log frame machine, and George Bowkley continued to use the machine until 1950 when electricity was introduced at the mill.
“Early in 1951 Mr F. P. Middleton of Low Hill, Hartlebury, Worcestershire, was interested in acquiring a Humphries portable steam engine for preservation, and hearing Mr Bowkley had one for sale, contacted him and a deal was struck for the sum of £20. There it remained in Hartlebury until I acquired it in July 1972.” John Selway would like to know whether Bugle readers have similar photographs to the one that appeared in Dianne Pye’s article (which also features in this article), as he is keen to establish a full history of the 1806. He would also like to hear from any persons who may have reminiscences of the usage of the engine during its working life, and can be contacted by email on john.selway@riverfusion.com .
John mentioned earlier the name and address of the person to which the brand new 1806 was delivered soon after its was built in 1893; Mr J. Darby, High Park, Stourbridge.
The address, High Park, throws light on an important period of agricultural history in the Black Country. In Nigel Perry’s ‘A History of Stourbridge’, it is revealed that enclosure of the common land brought about a major change to the Stourbridge landscape in the 1780s.
He writes: “In the early 18th century the last of the open fields had been enclosed by private agreements, but the commons had to await private Enclosure Acts that were enacted in 1780 and 1782. The four main commons were divided into enclosed plots of land and they consisted of Stourbridge Common (including The Heath), The Short Heath, High Park, and Lye Waste, amounting to some 700 acres in total. These commons all previously belonged to the Foley family as lords of the manor.
The freehold was either sold to the tenants, exchanged for other pieces of land, or granted as compensation to those persons who had lost their grazing rights. A large part of High Park Common was allocated to Thomas Hill who fenced it and planted it with trees for the protection of game, the estate later being sold to the Earl of Dudley.
Enclosure to the open fields and commons around Stourbridge certainly benefitted the town, for it was the key to more efficient farming and put funds into the local community as large landowners began to buy out other residents with only small holdings.” High Park was an area to the west of Stourbridge, near Wollaston, land through which ran an ancient track way of Roman or prehistoric origin that is today called High Park Avenue. Much of the land on both sides of The Ridge was known as High Park in the 19th century, and Highpark Farm near to Wollaston was one of the largest in the area and had a threestory brick built Georgian farmhouse, with tall chimney stacks at either end. The farm supplied milk to much of Wollaston in the early 20th century and the milk float displaying the name of the farmer, John Darby, was a familiar sight in the village.