Wallis and Steevens of Basingstoke were producers of Traction Engines
General
1840 Richard Wallis established a business as corn, salt and coal merchants at Basingstoke, Hampshire
1856 Charles Haslam joined the firm when the North Hants Iron Works was opened in Station Hill, Basingstoke. The firm was then making mainly threshing machines.
1860 Wallis and Haslam of North Hants Iron Works won a £20 prize at the RASE Show at Caterbury for 'the best threshing machine to be worked by horsepower' [1]
1861 Charles Steevens joined the firm and the manufacture of steam engines was developed.
1871 Employing 80 hands [2]
1876 Details of their eight-horsepower portable engine
1877 Produced first traction engine
1870s The production of traction engines was built up.
1890 The firm's first road roller was built. Illustration in 'The Engineer'
1894 June. Royal Agricultural Society's Show. Road breaker
1895 Their first road locomotive was produced
1897 Public company
1906 Produced a steam wagon with various bodies and usually a 5 tonner. This was produced until 1925 and an example is at the Hampshire County Museum
1911 Smithfield Club Show. Exhibited traction engines
1913-1917 For a list of the models and prices of Steam Motor Wagons, Tractors and Ploughs etc. see the 1917 Red Book
1923 The first of the Advance series of steam road rollers was introduced, and this heralded the increasing specialisation of the firm on road rollers. Petrol and diesel power succeeded steam, with Advance continuing as the company's brand name.
1928 Steam-roller. Exhibit at Bradford Industrial Museum
1961 Engineers and manufacturers of Advance diesel road and footpath rollers and Direct cold emulsions sprayers. 150 employees. [3]
1966 A new works at Daneshill was opened in 1966.
1981 Wallis and Steevens ceased trading
Steam Engines
See Wallis and Steevens: Steam Engines
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Hampshire Advertiser, Saturday, July 14, 1860
- ↑ 1871 Census
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- Traction Engine Album by Malcolm Ranieri. Pub 2005
- Rural History Web Site.
- The Engineer of 1stDecember 1876 p382
- The Engineer of 27th June 1890. p515
- The Engineer of 29th June 1894 p562
- The Engineer of 8th December 1911 p594
- The Museum of English Rural Life Archive called Heavy Metal has a wonderful array of information regarding the company;