Our Great British Heritage
One thing we are not short of in Great Britain is our rural heritage, yet it must continue to be preserved for future generations to enjoy and learn from, as we have done. Examples of our great heritage are to be found all round Newark & Nottinghamshire County Show.
Farming
Ever since man learnt to grow crops and husband livestock, the farming industry has been a hot-bed of ingenuity and engineering marvels thanks to the skills and expertise of those who work the land. Who would ever have thought, back in an era when horses pulled the plough and farm workers laboriously brought in the harvest that a machine would rumble across the fields and do the work of several humans in hours rather than days or weeks?
Loving restoration
The Farming Heritage Area contains wonderful glimpses of history with its line-up of vintage and classic tractors, many of them lovingly restored while some still work the land.
Many of the exhibits belong to members of the Nottinghamshire Group of the National Vintage Tractor and Engine Club which came into existence 40 years ago. The group is actively involved in jointly organising the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show, held at the showground in November.
Present, Past and Future
Known as ‘The museum which travels’, the Trent Valley Agricultural Preservation Trust was also formed 40 years ago so that ‘We of the Present preserve the Past for the Future’. Members maintain their own individual collections of bygones from sewing needles to farm implements and can be seen with their displays at shows, rallies and ploughing matches throughout the year.
Blue Force
A new society has recently been launched; Blue Force has been created to bring together dedicated tractor enthusiasts whose interest encompasses Fordson, Ford, New Holland, County Doe, Muir-Hill and Roadless among other others. The Ford Motor Company of America has officially sanctioned the use of the wheat sheaf as a basis for the Blue Force logo.
Full steam ahead!
Before the advent of petrol and diesel-driven engines, this mechanical marvel was powered by steam. The steam was produced by heating water to boiling point creating the energy to put the moving parts into motion.
Among the giants of working transport at the show is a 1918 Fowler Road Loco, the only surviving one of its kind, and a 1902 Case Traction Engine that came from Canada.
In the Miniature Steam Engine display there is something quite satisfying and even relaxing about watching a static engine putter away – each is based on an original, bigger, engine and some are only a few years old. Yet they maintain the link with past machinery and if you want to know more about a particular exhibit – just ask the owner!
One thing all these engines have in common is that they have their own names! From Grizzly to Ben Hur and Heather to Wandering Star, you will find the Steam Engine Display adjacent to the Farming Heritage Area.
Bread making
One of the mainstays of our staple diet throughout the ages has been bread. From the wheat growing in the field, through harvest, threshing and grinding the corn into flour is a timeless process – although these days it takes a fraction of the time and manpower to produce even more!
At the top end of the Farming Heritage section, near the Yellow Gate, you will find Paul Jones and his wonderful mobile bread oven – and the chance for the whole family to get stuck in and make REAL bread!
Crushing time
If you want to find out how roads were built, then visit the Ilkeston Crushers located between the Steam Engines and Farming Heritage Area. As the name suggests, vehicles were employed to powerfully crush bricks, making them small enough to form a firm foundation for road-building. The show organisers are indebted to ‘Tip It’ of Newark which has generously donated all the bricks for the display.
The array of road-building vehicles and equipment date from the 40s and 50s and are owned by Clive Smedley and Alan King from Ilkeston in Derbyshire. Clive and Alan will be dressed in working clothes of the time, right down, or should that be up, to the bowler hat – very different from the eye-glaring fluorescent jackets and helmets worn by today’s road-builders.
Military parade
Echoing a period when many landowners also served in the armed forces, the added attraction of military vehicles was introduced to the show last year. It is also a reminder of the current conflicts in the Middle East and how much we rely on many of these machines to withstand all types of terrain from bog to desert and protect our brave soldiers during battle.
When cars were driven by humans, not computers
Computers seem to govern our lives and there are few modern private or commercial vehicles that do not have at least one on board, controlling everything from ‘engine management’ to windscreen wipers.
Next door to the Village Green you will find an impressive array of classic and vintage cars, motor bikes and commercial vehicles – with not a computer in sight and when cars were designed without the aid of a wind tunnel. Each make and model had its own distinctive style and shape – and probably idiosyncrasies too. From vehicles built in the early 1900s through to the 60s there will be many names to savour and memories rekindled as visitors wander among the gleaming metalwork.
Gentle giants
If ever a sight was guaranteed to bring people to a halt to watch and admire, it is the Heavy Horses. These gentle giants of the equine world have been used as chargers in medieval times – when knights wore armour that weighed so much they had to be lifted onto the horse’s back by crane – and for many, many, years were the forerunners of today’s articulated lorries and tractors, used for haulage and working the land.
As well as seeing them exhibited in the showing and agricultural and trade turnout classes, we are fortunate to see a number of Heavy Horses at work in the area next to the Forestry, along with a static display of Lincolnshire vintage agricultural equipment, some of which will be used during the Heavy Horse demonstrations.
Demonstrations will take place each day starting with preparing the horse for work – visitors will be invited to help harness up – followed by working displays of hay-making using a horse-drawn mower, hay turner, hay loader and a hay rake. There will also be an opportunity for members of the public to try their hand at driving a Heavy Horse in a straight line – not as easy as it looks!
