Rotherham Plough

1. Rotherham Plough By Seb Wright :: Nic Watts Jordan Smith :: Harry Ford And Chelsea Mawer

5. PMI

6. Interesting Facts • Also known as the Yorkshire plough • Following the Romans, early British law required every ploughman to make his own plough, and no one was entitled to use one unless they constructed it themselves • Saxon farmers used to fasten the plough to the horns or tail of the animal they were using to pull it • Joseph Foljambe later sold it to Disney Staniforth of Firbeck • Was the first iron plough to have commercial success • Referred to as a swing plough because no depth wheel was used • It measured 7 feet 4 inches • James Small, a wagon-maker from Doncaster set up his own factory in Scotland and improved upon the plough • Was a very popular design for over 30 years • Constructed of iron and wood • Patented in 1730 when it was described as the Rotherham Swing Plough

7. Description • Rotherham Plough Description • It was constructed of wood like the standard plough but the fittings and cutting blade were made of iron and the mouldboard and ploughshare were covered in iron plates. It was lighter than the traditional plough and could be easily worked with a pair of horses. There was little attempt to change the design of the plough until the mid-1600’s. It was engineered after the mathematical principles of James Small who designed a mouldboard that would cut, lift and fully turn over the earth.