Before the invention of the lawn mower, fine lawns were the exclusive preserve of those who could employ gardeners to scythe the grass. English engineer Edwin Beard Budding (1795-1846) invented the cylinder mower to maintain the grass of sports fields and the gardens of the wealthy. Patented in England in 1830, Budding's machine used a heavy roller to drive the cylinder, requiring two gardeners to push and pull it. The Regent's Park Zoological Garden in London was an early adopter, using one in 1831. By 1860 lawn mowers were being manufactured in eight roller sizes, up to 36 inches (900 cm), and in 1859 Thomas Green produced the first chain-driven mower. Grass boxes were added during the 1860s.
A steam-powered mower fueled by petrol or kerosene was patented in 1893 by James Sumner, who co-founded the Lancashire Steam Motor Company (later the Leyland Motor Company) in 1896 to produce steam-powered vehicles. This technology paved the way for the birth of the British motor industry A lightweight cylinder mower was developed and patented by Amariah Hills in the United States in 1899, and, around 1900, Ransomes in England made the first ride-on mowing machine. Mowing technology has continued to develop, with the later invention of rotary and hover mowers and even the robotic mower.
The invention of the mower made lawns affordable and helped popularize sports that rely on grass—such as tennis, cricket, rugby and football—as lawns and pitches became more widely accessible.
