On Saturday 3rd June, East Anglian-based auctioneer, Cheffins, sold an important collection of steam engines and rare vintage tractors owned by the late Richard Vernon. A well-known collector, Richard Vernon amassed over 200 lots of tractors, steam engines and implements over thirty years, which drew buyers from across the world to this important auction.
Included in the sale was a pair of Fowler BB1 ploughing engines, ‘Princess Caroline and Princess Jayne’, dating from 1918, which sold for £156,000 to a buyer from the USA. This far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of £120,000 - £140,000, for these two rare engines which have lived their whole hundred plus year lives within a twenty-mile radius in Leicestershire. Also on offer was a very early Victorian 1884 Fowler SC ploughing engine "Aethelflaed" which had been owned by Richard Vernon since 2004 and sold for £64,000 to a collector from Worcestershire.
Among the tractors, the highest grossing lots included a circa 1920 Peterbro’ which sold for £40,000, a 1920 British Wallis which made £28,000 and The Grey 18-36 which achieved £23,000. Similarly, a 1916 Parrett tractor, which was built in Illinois sold for £20,000 and a 1920 Sawyer Massey 11-22 made £33,000.
Bill King, Chairman, Cheffins comments: “The prices achieved at this sale go to show that the pockets of the vintage collecting community are still incredibly deep when it comes to buying the best in class of examples. Steam engines are rare to come to the open market and this sale caused quite a buzz among the steam community, particularly as Richard Vernon had a fantastic reputation as one of the leading figures in steam preservation. He will be much missed on the vintage circuit, and this sale is a testament to his skill as a discerning collector and early pioneer of the vintage tractor circuit. The sale was hugely well attended, and we saw representation of buyers from throughout the UK, Ireland, the USA and Europe. We were honoured to host this very special sale for an eager crowd at the Vernon family farm in Cotesbach, Leicestershire and hope that the buyers of these very special machines will continue Richard’s legacy in preserving them for future generations.”