Jonathon Hardwick, 49, inherited his father’s collection of 500 vintage lawnmowers – and is now left with ‘plenty of options’ when it comes to mowing the lawn
Jonathon Hardwick with his collection
Green-fingered Jonathon Hardwick is ‘spoiled for choice’ when tackling his lawn for the first time this year – having inherited one of Britain’s largest vintage lawnmower collections.
Jonathon, 49, took ownership of the enormous 500-piece collection from his late father, Stan Hardwick, a former golf club greenskeeper, following his death from prostate cancer in 2024 aged 84.
The vast collection – assembled over more than 35 years and valued at several thousand pounds – is packed into nine sheds, a double garage, and the conservatory of Stan’s former home in Filey, North Yorkshire, where his wife Margaret continues to reside.
The oldest machines in the collection – believed to be Britain’s second largest – stretch back to the 19th century and include several models thought to be the only surviving examples of their kind.
The landscape gardener, also from Filey, North Yorkshire, regularly maintains the lawn at his mother’s property, and with spring’s arrival many gardeners will be gearing up for their first cut of the year.
Stan Hardwick and his wife Margaret (Image: SWNS)
Jonathon Hardwick with his collection (Image: SWNS)
Jonathon says he has ‘plenty of options’ at his disposal. He said: “There are so many to choose, I am spoiled for choice really.
“But I have decided this year I think I will use the Ransomes Automaton which dates back to the 1920s. It is a solid machine and has a nice weight.
“It has eight blades in the cylinder meaning it will give a nice low cut, exactly what the lawn needs.” Stan used to mow his lawn twice a week with a reliable 1930s push mower.
The crown jewel of the collection – worth £5,000 – is an 1861 Shanks.
Other notable pieces include a Shanks roller triple mower from the mid-1920s, thought to be the only surviving example, as well as a Ransomes Reversible mower from the 1870s, with just three others known to exist.
He even revealed that he’s put several mowers to work on garden jobs, including a 1900s Pennsylvania trimmer and edger, and a 1930s 30-inch Dennis mower weighing half a tonne, which he used to level out a customer’s lawn.
Following Stan’s death, Jonathan has pledged to preserve and even expand the extensive collection.
There’s around 500 lawnmowers in the collection, thought to be the second biggest in the UK
He said: “My aim is to try and look after and maintain it the best that I can. There are so many, the hardest part is preserving them, ensuring they don’t start rusting.
“I looked after the collection alongside my father since being a boy around 10 years old tinkering with them on weekends.
“I’m still adding to the collection, if I see a mower that will fill a gap I will get hold of it. I’m really proud of it – I see it as preserving a bit of British history.
“They remind me off my father each time I walk through the front door, his memory is living on through them. I look to keep hold of it for as long as possible, with no plans of selling up anytime soon.”
Britain’s largest vintage lawnmower collection is owned by Somerset residents Andrew Hall, 65, and Michael Duck, 74, featuring more than 1,500 machines, including one from Donald Trump’s Scottish golf course.
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