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A few key numbers
We've been around for a long time and we have a lot of history!
Here are a few fast facts to give a whistle-stop tour of some important numbers for us.
1730
Burgon and Ball starts making sheep shears in Sheffield, England. What else is happening?
Josiah Wedgewood is born – he’ll go on to do have quite an eye for design himself. George Washington’s parents are courting and will marry next year. An infant Captain James Cook takes his first steps – he’ll go far, landing in Botany Bay in 1760.
The estimated number of sheep shears we have manufactured in Sheffield in our 280-plus year history.
If we were to make these again today, the steel we’d use would stretch for 7000 miles – that’s from Sheffield to Cape Town, Hawaii, or Singapore!
207
The years of combined metalworking experience of our factory team in Sheffield.
96
There were 96 different designs of hoe listed in our 1922 catalogue. The right tool for the job makes all the difference!
His eventual shearing was broadcast on New Zealand national television – and former blade shearing world champion Peter Casserly used Burgon & Ball shears to tackle the job.
294
The patent number of the classic Burgon & Ball shears, dated 18 July 1865.Since we protected our design, patents have come a long way: in 2016, UK patent number 2,500,000 was granted.
999
Our original patented sheep shear design features in Phaidon’s ‘999 Design Classics’, an authoritative collection of classic design since the early 1800s.These same shears are still in production today. Why change a perfect product?
We were delighted to win a gold medal at our first RHS Hampton Court Flower Show.
We get so much gardening inspiration from the RHS flower shows. In 2011 we were even inspired to design our own show garden - and we won gold from the RHS judges!
With our ‘5 a Day’ garden at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2011, we aimed to show that you don’t need a huge amount of space to grow beautiful fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs to make a delicious and healthy addition to your diet.
147
The number of years’ records which were destroyed in a devastating fire at the offices at the new La Plata Works in 1878.
Happily, for the last 140-plus years, we’ve not had a repeat, leaving us with a glorious archive of history stretching back to Victorian times.
The number of series of ITV’s ‘Love Your Garden’ we have supplied with tools for the team.
As Alan Titchmarsh writes on his ‘Love Your Garden’ blog: “Burgon & Ball have supplied every show of the series with some of the finest wooden handled spades, forks and hand tools known to man. We certainly put them through their paces during the build and they didn’t let us down.”
More about us
We'd like to tell you more about Burgon & Ball, our long history and why our tools are so exceptional. Find out more on these links:
