Corfe Castle at sunrise
The Steam Plough Club (SPC) is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special display of ploughing engines and equipment at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.
The exhibit, in collaboration with the National Traction Engine Trust (NTET), will bring to life the history of steam ploughing and demonstrate the historical impact of British engineering agriculture worldwide.
Visitors will get the opportunity to see a variety of exhibits from a 1.5″ model ploughing engine coming from Holland to a ‘road train’ of ploughing engines, including a living van and water cart.
The main NTET marquee will feature three ploughing engines inside and four outside, along with a vast collection of implements and equipment. There will also be a ploughing engine with a 7 furrow stump-jump plough on display from Australia.
Exhibits will have their own storyboards to explain their historical significance, and SPC Members will be in the marquee to show people around the exhibits, talk about steam ploughing and answer any questions. Steam ploughing demonstrations will be taking place as usual on the hill.
Melanie Fisher from The Steam Plough Club said: “We’re excited and privileged to be able to celebrate our 50th anniversary at the Great Dorset Steam Fair. I have been a visitor to the steam fair I was little, when I used to attend with my Dad, and now I’m coming to exhibit my own engine. It’s a wonderful thing to be part of.”
The Steam Plough Club was founded in 1966 by the late Harold Bonnett and has over 400 members worldwide. The club aims to keep steam ploughing alive – not just by maintaining the machinery but also by passing down the skills to new generations.
Between 1859 and 1928, it is estimated that 6830 cable-ploughing engines were manufactured in the UK – 4380 of these engines were exported and 2450 were domestic sales. British Ploughing Engines were exported to over 30 countries worldwide.
