The Hall & Duck Trust
Follows and Bates Manchester
Follows and Bates was founded by Fredrick William Follows in 1868 who specialised in making home appliances from their foundry based in Gorton Manchester.
In 1869, Fredrick William Follows and John Bates Patented the back delivery lawn mower named The Climax. The motive power came from internal gears placed inside the land wheels either side of the lawn mower. Today this type of mower is known as a side-wheel lawn mower.
The simple construction lead to lighter machines, so reducing the cost of production. With less parts, mass production followed. The cutting cylinder blades were made of steel so once the blades became worn, the cylinder was designed to be reversed so the blades were worn down evenly from both sides.
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The Ironmonger advert in November 1869
The Ironmonger advert in December 1869
Production and sales of the Climax in the 1870’s outstripped the foundries in Gorton. Robey of Lincoln, who were better known for building traction engines also made the Climax under licence.
It is also interesting to note that many drawings can be found in periodicals of the time but should never be relied upon for exact likeness, as many drawings were replicated throughout the period of production. All differ when shown with real examples.
A group of Follows and Bates mowers. The 3rd from the left is the 10 inch Climax without the back delivery box. Owned by the Hall and Duck Trust.
The only 10 inch size Climax known. Owned by the Hall & Duck Trust
Follows and Bates grew rapidly through the Victorian age, they developed other lawn mowers along the way, but their greatest growth came from selling their wears via ‘Own labels’ or as we know it today ‘badge engineering’.
In 1938 Follows and Bates were absorbed by Birmid Qualcast who used Folbate as their brand name.
In 1938 Follows and Bates were absorbed by Birmid Qualcast who used Folbate as their brand name.
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There are only a few examples known of the Follows and Bates Climax but all are of the 6 inch wide size. The Hall and Duck trust currently owns the only known 10 inch wide mower.