Ransomes Sports and Social Club

Ransomes, Sims and Jeffries (also Ransomes, Ransomes, Sims & Head) was a major British agricultural machinery maker producing a wide range of products including traction engines, ploughs, lawn mowers, combine harvesters and other tilling equipment. They also manufactured aeroplanes during the First World War. Their railway equipment business was continued by Ransomes & Rapier after 1869. The company was based in Ipswich.

The company was founded, as Ransomes, in 1789 by Robert Ransome, an iron-founder in Norwich before moving to Ipswich where he started casting ploughshares in a disused malting at St Margaret's Ditches in Ipswich, with capital of £200 and one employee.

As a result of a mishap in his foundry, a broken mould caused molten metal to come into contact with cold metal, making the metal surface extremely hard – chilled casting – which he advertised as 'self sharpening' ploughs, and received patents for his discovery.^{[dead link]}

Ransomes produced the 'Automaton' hand-powered lawn mower in 1867.

Prior to 1869 the company changed its name to Ransomes, Sims & Head.

In 1869 four engineers, J.A. Ransome, R.J. Ransome, R.C. Rapier and A.A. Bennett, left the company by agreement to establish 'Ransomes & Rapier', also based in Ipswich to continue the business of railway equipment and other heavy works.

In 1902 Ransomes produced the first commercially available powered lawn mower, driven by an internal combustiongasoline engine.

In the First World War, they manufactured aeroplanes: 350 Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 fighters. While the Director was responsible for the design of the modern trench mortar.

In 1989 the whole of the agricultural implement business was sold to Electrolux and merged with their subsidiary Overum.

This left Ransomes solely as a manufacturer of lawn mowers, with the Westwood and Mountfield mower brands. The company accepted a take-over offer from Textron Inc., USA, and their independent existence ended early in 1998.

The history of company is the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket, Suffolk and they are also represented in Ipswich Transport Museum.

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