About the steam plough
The introduction of steam ploughing in the 19th century was a radical departure from what had gone before. The development of steam power was initially motivated by the need to pump water from mines. Laterally, its transport, marine and industrial applications were critical to its development – its use in ploughing is somewhat nominal and it was not until the emergence of the internal combustion engine that the use of animals ceased. The steam engine was the key invention industrial revolution and steam ploughing an instructive example of Victorian optimism.
It was used increasingly from 1855 onwards, and in 1869, the 3rd Duke of Sutherland began the largest land reclamation works in British history on his estates in the north of Scotland (Tindley, 2009); part of this project was fuelled by the Duke’s enthusiasm for the latest steam technology, in particular the steam plough, being developed at this time by John Fowler’s and Co. of Leeds (Lane, 1980). In partnership with Fowler’s, itself a personal business based on improvements in steam machinery, the Duke adapted the eight steam plough sets he purchased from them to the specific difficulties of the Sutherland terrain and landscape.