Dominic Gryson of Cornstown House, Fingal, County Dublin has an impressive collection of vintage agricultural machinery for cultivating ancient cereals and crafting thatching straw, including a 1927 Fosters of Lincoln threshing mill bought from a thatcher named Jim Feeney.
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This mill was a far more expensive machine in its day (1927) than the Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies mill we featured in our previous episode – “1917 Thresher Tsar Nicholas II Connection | Season 3 – Episode 93” https://irelandmade.ie/1917-thresher-tsar-nicholas-ii-connection-season-3-episode-93/(opens in a new tab)
The Fosters of Lincoln thresher has a unique feature as on the side-plate of the bearing that houses the main threshing drum, there is a small picture of a tank. This is because Fosters of Lincoln built tanks during the first world war. After the war and as a nod to their wartime production, they placed this logo on the side-plate of their threshers.
While it certainly is an eye-catching item, according to Dominic this was in fact a “huge disservice to their mills” as in the 1960s and ‘70s many Fosters of Lincoln mills were taken apart so the side-plate featuring the tank could go on display in pubs and in so doing “kill the very mill that it was a part off”.
The key feature of these machines is that the drum bar is 54 inches long, 4ft 6” (137.16cm). In the agricultural contracting trade these machines were known as “54-inch heavies” because the construction was extra heavy.
Another unique construction detail of this threshing mill is the presence of spirit levels on each chassis member. Because, as Dominic tells us the “machine has no way of compensating for being out of line and must be jacked up perfectly plum, so the ash hangers don’t hit the chassis when it is being used”.
Dominic has big plans for his Fosters of Lincoln and Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies threshing mills and in the near future will get them both back to full working order along with a Fordson Major to power them both and plans to run a harvest event at Cornstown House Farm in the near future.
The Gryson family farm organically at Cornstown House only a 30-minute drive from the city centre. Explore beyond their extensive vintage machinery collection and you will find rare breeds like cattle, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, horses, and alpacas roaming the picturesque farm. Open on weekends and for private appointments, Cornstown House welcomes visitors to experience the Gryson Family’s warm hospitality.
