COMMERCIALLY ROLLING IN 2021

It was also a case of Daisy the steam roller meets Jack the 11-year-old Shire horse all in front of the magnificent 1683-built Ragley Hall on a balmy warm September day to celebrate the estate’s new road system, which will certainly help as it expands the corporate events on this stunning 6,500-acre estate.

Here we were on the day, it had finally came to fruition after months of planning for S E Davis & Son Ltd of Astwood Bank, Redditch to celebrate working for the Marquess of Hertford for over 50 years. An added bonus was the fact that Bob Davis had purchased 1932 Aveling & Porter AB type 8 ton compound No. 14150 DW7867 some 50 years ago from Mr Stacey, Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

Stacey had bought the engine from Cardigan County Council in 1968; it had worked in the Aberystwyth area for most of its time with the Council. In fact they had kept the engine in excellent order and had only purchased it as late as 1959 from well-known contractor W Richards of Newport in Monmouthshire, who had the engine new as No. 70 in his fleet. He also had a similar AB compound 8 ton example, No. 14136 of 1931 and fleet No. 67, which was later scrapped.