3. A museum dedicated to lawnmowers and their history
One could reasonably expect a museum dedicated to lawnmowers to sit somewhere in America’s suburbs, where their sound is ubiquitous on summer days. Instead, it can be found in the British community of Southport, in the Merseyside region, not far from Liverpool. The museum points out the lawnmower originated in Britain, patented by one Edward Beard Budding in 1830. He designed the rotary cutter originally to cut cloth, part of his work of making uniforms. After discovering it could cut grass he applied it to that purpose, creating a new Saturday afternoon chore for the ages. The majority of the artifacts displayed in the museum are from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. There are exceptions though, and some are truly exceptional.
The museum displays a lawnmower formerly owned by Prince Charles and his wife Lady Diana. One can just picture the Prince of Wales happily cutting the grass on one of his estates. Another mower donated to the museum once served the needs of guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May, of Queen. Other garden tools and related items are displayed as well. The museum restores antique and more recent mowers, both for its own collections and for others. It also provides technical support and services to those requesting them. Another source of income for the museum comes from the renting out of vintage equipment for use in film and television productions. The museum calls itself “one of the world’s leading authorities in vintage lawnmowers”, and offers both personal guided and audio tours to fans of grass-cutting machinery.