Ransom, Sims and Head Winnower

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Ransome, Sims & Head

c. 1870

Overview

This is a hand operated Winnower that was manufactured in England by Ransome, Sims and Head between 1869 and 1879.

Historical information

Winnowers, like this one, were used from the 1880s to early 1900s to separate grain from chaff after harvest but could also be used to remove pests from stored grain. The dried cut crop would be fed into the Winnower and the operator would turn the handle, which would cause the inner drum to rotate, separating the chaff from the grain, causing the lighter chaff to blow away and directing the heavier grains to the collection point. The Winnower became obsolete with the introduction of combine harvesters.

Ransomes of Ipswich, Suffolk, was founded in 1789 by ironmonger Robert Ransome and traded under varying names until it finally became Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited in 1884. Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited was a major British agricultural machinery maker which produced a wide range of general engineering products including traction engines, trolleybuses, ploughs, lawn mowers, combine harvesters and other tilling equipment until it was sold to Electrolux in 1998.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-124-2023.101

Item type

Machinery

Themes

Agriculture

Material

Iron

Width

80 cm

Height or length

200 cm

Depth

150 cm

Inscriptions and markings

RANSOMES, SIMS & HEAD.
IPSWICH, ENGLAND

Contextual Information

These machines were built and assembled in the Ipswich factory, then dismantled and each part given a number and a letter to allow for easy transport and reassembly when they reached their destination, which quite often was Australia, not too dissimilar to the Ikea flat packing of today! These numbers and letters can still be seen on the old wood work when it is dismantled.

The process of winnowing has been around since the earliest cultivation of grain crops and in its simplest form involved throwing the threshed grain up into the air so that the wind blew away the lighter chaff, while the heavier grains fell to the ground for recovery. Techniques included using a winnowing fan, a shallow basket shaken to raise the chaff, or using a tool like a winnowing fork or shovel on a pile of harvested grain.

This Winnower was loving restored by Museum volunteer Jim Zimdahl.

Keywords

Place made

Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom

Orwell Works

Year

c. 1870

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance