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Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

MP059: DB Swallow

The DB Swallow was unusual because it was painted blue when most mowers were green.

The DB Swallow was a popular hand mower in the 1930s. It was manufactured by Dronsfield Brothers (from where the DB in the name comes from) of Oldham, Lancashire. The mower was only available in 12in cutting width. In 1936 it cost 69s 6d and by 1939 the price had risen to 77s 6d.

Dronsfield Brothers was an engineering business based in Oldham that was perhaps best known for textile machinery and machine tools. Like many companies with a heritage in other industries the company turned its hand to mower manufacturing in the 1920s and 30s.

The DB Swallow is typical of the sort of mowers manufactured during the period. It was advertised with a number of features that were either new or had been introduced by other manufacturers at about the same time. For example, the open chain or gear drive found on many earlier mowers was replaced by precision gears enclosed in an oil bath. This helped make the action of the mower smoother and kept grass and other lawn debris out of the mechanism. This type of design was used in machines from other manufacturers such as the JP Super, Ransomes Anglia and Drummond Willing Worker.

The DB Swallow was priced at 77 shillings and 6 pence in 1939 and was only available in 12 inch cut.

The DB Swallow was also advertised as having "easily detachable handles for easy storage" and "adjustable for height". It also featured ball bearings on the cutting cylinder and land (rear) roller shafts. Although ball bearings were not especially new in the 1930s there were many mowers that still relied on the more basic brass bush type bearings found on Victorian machines. Another feature of the DB Swallow was its removable cutting cylinder. By undoing just one screw, the cutting cylinder could be removed for replacement or sharpening. Again this was not a unique feature as such but it was still more advanced than many similar mowers of the period.

The same feature was employed in another mower made by Dronsfield Brothers during the 1930s called theĀ "4 in 1". With this machine the cutting cylinder could be removed and replaced with a lawn sweeper or a lawn aerator attachment. As the mower could also be used as a light roller it therefore had four different uses on the lawn, hence "4 in 1".

Alternative view of the DB Swallow.

Dronsfield Brothers manufactured a small number of designs in the 1930s. These were mainly named after birds, including the Swallow, Snipe and Swan.

The DB Swallow was in some ways ahead of its time in the 1930s and its price, while not exceptionally high, was more than many similar machines from companies such as Ransomes and Greens. Although it was widely advertised it would seem that relatively few were sold and examples are quite unusual as a consequence.