Four Oaks Spraying Machines
The Four Oaks Spraying Machine Co
(FOSMC) was situated in Belwell Lane, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield. On its site
are now Waitrose and the Lloyds British building with Flints on the ground
floor. It was one of two spraying machine manufacturers in Sutton Coldfield; the
other being J.A. Southerton, who used the trade name Martsmith.
The founder of the FOSMC, William Charles George Ludford, had been born in 1867 to William and Elizabeth Ludford; his father was from Middlesex, his mother was from Sutton Coldfield. He purchased Fernlea, a house in Belwell Lane, just to the Mere Green side of the railway bridge in perhaps the late 1880’s or early 1890’s, his name appearing on the 1891 Burgess Roll and with his family on the 1891 Census, which recorded his occupation as an accountant’s clerk.
It is understood that the Four Oaks Spraying Machine Company was established in 1895. This information came from a catalogue & price list dated 1954. The 1954 catalogue also suggests that before the FOSMCo there was another organization that was created as early as 1884. It is thought that this organization was known as The Four Oaks Nursery Co, however other than observing this name on two un-dentable syringe sprayers nothing is currently known about this body (October 2009).
In September 1898 WCG Ludford purchased a plot of land,
from a John Jones, in Belwell Lane situated next to his house, Fernlea, upon
which he subsequently built his works and some offices fronting Belwell Lane. In
1909 he purchased the leases of some of the properties on the opposite side of
Belwell Lane, subsequent acquisitions took place in later years. In time these
led to the FOSMC owning the leases of the properties 1 through to 17 Belwell
Lane.
1909 saw a number of spraying
machines entered into a demonstration of spraying machines, liquids and liming
machines held on Thursday April 22nd and organized by the Wisbech and
District Fruit Growers’ Association. The prizes to be awarded were six silver
gilt and six silver medals and other firms taking part included Benton and
Stone, Birmingham; Cooper & Nephew, Berkhampstead; Strawson & Son,
Reading; Drake and Fletcher, Maidstone. Four competitions were arranged; Class A
- Knapsack Sprayers for liquids; Class B – Sprayers on wheels for
liquids; Class C – Limewash Sprayers; Class D – Knapsacks for distributing
dry powders. The field opened at
10.30 a.m. and half an hour later when judging commenced reports indicated that
there was a good attendance. The Four Oaks Spraying Machine Company succeeded in
being awarded the silver gilt medal for Class A with their Knapsack sprayer for
liquids. The judges noted that the machine shown by them was exceedingly simple
in construction and very well made. A selection of their own nozzles were used
and the ‘Marvellous’ nozzle was very much admired, giving a large spray with
good force. While they were not successful in any of the other classes
contemporary press reports mentioned their entry in Class C with two machines,
their one with the thirty gallon tank being their best.
Entry into the Northern Fruit
Congress competition in October 1910, held at Hexham, produced two gold medals.
By 1911, the business was doing well
enough to support advertisements in such publications as the Estate Book, issued
by the Country Gentlemen’s Association. The 1911 advertisement boldly states
that ‘The “Four Oaks” Syringes Spraying and Limewashing Machines are
acknowledged by all users to be the best the world has ever seen. It featured
their Undentable Syringe a range of syringes that were sold with a three-year
guarantee against indentation of their working barrel; the working barrel is
wrapped within a corrugated brass tube with the corrugations being on the
outside. While I was at the Canwell Show in August 2006 displaying a number of
sprayers, a former employee of the FOSMC advised me that when WCG Ludford was
returning home one evening on the train he came across the idea while toying
with some corrugated card packing with him. He realised that if turned with the
corrugations out then the central working barrel would be protected. Prices for
these in 1911 ranged from 12s 6d for a No 9 which was one-and-one-eighth in. by
20 in., to a No 5, best quality, teak handled example 1+3/4” by 20 in., 32s!
Also featured was The “Four Oaks”
Patent Knapsack Sprayer, No 101. This was a sprayer, with a capacity of 3 +1/4
gallons, was carried on the back with an operating arm on one side and a lance
at the end of a 3-foot best India-rubber tube, fitted with the “Four Oaks”
Patent spraying Nozzle and short brass tube with a stop cock. This cost 45s and
the advert advised that in addition to spraying fruit trees and trees of all
kinds, vines, hops, Coffee, Tea and Cocoa, also Potatoes and other crops, could
also be used for Limewashing.
Limewashing not surprisingly featured
heavily in their range of equipment, as this was a regular activity to be
undertaken and often very laborious. The spraying machines sold ranged from
their “Farmer” Pattern, a 4gallon limewasher, a bucket with a powerful brass
stirrup pump built into it and could be used for spraying any liquid, including
limewash, costing £3 2s6d; to eventually in the 1950’s a mechanized sprayer
the “Self Propelled”. This featured a 25-gallon drum with horizontal spray
bars and lances. Powered by a single cylinder 4-stroke Villiers industrial
engine coupled to a three-speed Albion motorcycle gearbox and double reduction
chain drive to the single axle, it required minimal effort to operate. The
liquid was drawn simultaneously from both tanks and passed through a filter
before entering a Brook pump driven via a V-belt directly off the engine and
thence via an adjusting valve to the spray bars at the front of the machine. The
liquid could be delivered either in a horizontal style across a 10 foot spread
of the bars could be altered to deliver it vertically to bushes etc. In 1959 the
cost was £135.
The range of machines they offered
was to say the least extensive; many of the names given to their models had
local connections; i.e. “Yenton”; “Weeford”, “Shenstone” and
“Streetly” patterns were just a few. As one would expect the FOSMC produced
a number of accessories that could be fitted to all of the machines they
produced, as the thread used was standard throughout the range.
A letter dated 19th September 1942 makes reference on the letterhead of a competition held by the Royal Horticultural Society at their Wisley grounds in July 1935, at which the FOSMC secured 5 out of 12 awards given for manually operated sprayers. Communication with the RHS resulted in full details of the competition being provided, lists of the competition classes, entrants and awards given. The trials that took place on Friday 12 July 1935 resulted in a total of 28 awards given in 9 classes. The FOSMC managed to be awarded a total of 11 awards in 8 of the 9 classes.
The manufactory created by WCG
Ludford was situated initially next door to his house Fernlea, photographs show
a building with ivy or creeper growing up the front, the building had the name
in large gold coloured letters just under the first floor windows. This was
originally a four gabled building though photographs taken in the early 1970’s
show a fifth gable over a garage door entrance with the addition of Ltd after
the name. From the photographs can be made out the two gable ends of what would
have been the main factory. Plans submitted to the Borough of Sutton Coldfield
in 1911 for offices & 1912 for a warehouse, both on the north side of
Belwell Lane and further plans for storage sheds on the south side submitted in
1918 & 1919 suggested that business was improving.
Application to Companies House a
while ago resulted in a microfiche of statutory documents supplied. This has
revealed some of the history of the FOSMC after WWII. In 1950 a document was
drawn up that resulted in the change of trading style of the company from being
solely owned by WCG Ludford, to that of a Limited Company with the directors
being WCG Ludford and his son Lawrance Ludford. At this time WCG was in his 83rd
year and given that he passed away early in 1951 this change may well have been
him putting things in order while able to. He is buried with his wife who
predeceased him in 1937, aged 77, in the graveyard at Canwell, Staffordshire.
It appears as a consequence of his death that the day to day running of
the business was taken over by his son Lawrance and the business continued
onwards. Production of some sprayers was moved to Southern Ireland and a company
called Sprayers Ltd was created in order to manufacture various models under
licence. Outwardly the only difference to sprayers manufactured there was a
different plate affixed to the sprayers.
With the introduction of plastics
into industry in the late 1950’s and throughout the 1960’s together with a
more throwaway society developing this inevitably had a detrimental effect on
the company. Added to this as many
of the products were designed for large estates and country gardens, which too
had seen a large decline after the war, the once profitable business appeared to
falter. New companies were coming along, Hozelock appeared in 1959. The accounts
of year ended 31 December, 1971 show the result with a net loss for the year of
£1581.79 to which had to be added the cumulative loss from previous years of £21022.31,
resulting in a debit balance of £22604.10 carried forward. The report also
reported the impending sale of the freehold premises comprising of the works and
offices of the Company, with a book value of £1719 for the sum of approximately
£45,000. 1972 saw the trading situation appear to deteriorate further with a
loss of £4569.27; 1974 saw the death of Lawrance Ludford and his son E.N.
Ludford become a director. During 1975 the freeholds of some of the properties
on the south side of Belwell Lane were sold, these included the remaining
assembly shop and offices at 11 Belwell Lane. The 14th January 1977
saw the effective closure of the FOSMC as a manufacturing concern as the
Company’s stock in trade was sold to the purchaser of the company’s business
for £7,750.00. Investigation has revealed that The Willcox Group purchased the
business, they were manufacturers of machine tools with premises in Kings Road
Tyseley, Birmingham. One of their subsidiaries was The Phillip B Waldron Co.
Ltd, using the brand name Dronwal. This date also saw the cancellation of the
Company’s VAT registration by H.M Customs and Excise. The only income then
became that derived from the letting of certain of its remaining Freehold
properties combined with ground rents receivable. This continued until 24th
March 1986 when the remaining freehold investment property was sold for the sum
of £76,500, after selling expenses were deducted.
Below are a few items of advertising material that illustrate the extent of the range plus some other material.
Copy of Instructions for Use of Limewashing Machine from 1912
A copy of a 1930 Billhead and a page from one of their catalogues.
Further images of machines manufactured by this company can be found here Four Oaks Spraying Machine Images