Chittenden and Simmons
of Maidstone
By 1875 Chittenden, Knight and Co were one of the largest owners of steam ploughing and threshing machinery in the UK. The ploughing business continued to be very successful until the general depression in agriculture largely reduced the area of arable land.
About this time the firm added steam-rolling to their other operations. Edmund Barrow Chittenden took into partnership Mr. Percy A. Simmons and the firm developed further their road-contracting business, and purchased some quarries.
In 1906 the business was converted into a limited company, with head offices in Maidstone, and carried out large contracts for tarmacadam and bituminous road surfaces for the Kent County Council, the London County Council, and other public bodies.