Taskers Of Andover
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Taskers of Andover were an
Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the River Test, Test, and lies alongside the major A303 road, A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, ...
based metal works and engineering company, which became better known in the latter half of the 20th century for their
lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...
trailers Trailer may refer to: Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Baggage trailer, a large flatbed baggage trolley ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passen ...
. After 170 years in operation, the company became first part of the
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
company, and then sold to Montracon, after which it closed.


Background

In 1806, Robert Tasker of
Stanton St Bernard Stanton St Bernard is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Devizes, about away to the west. The parish is tall and narrow, extending north onto the Marlborough Downs where it includes Milk ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
travelled from his father's
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
business to Abbotts Ann,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
to join the forge ironworks business of
Thomas Maslen Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...
. In 1809, he took over the business, but due to his non conformist
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
views, Tasker found business hard, and was forced to bid for work from further afield.


Waterloo ironworks

In 1813, Tasker and his brother William founded the Waterloo Ironworks in the
Anna Valley Anna Valley is part of the village and parish of Upper Clatford, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The settlement is located approximately south-west of the market town of Andover, Hampshire, Andover. The name 'Anna' derives from the Celtic river 'A ...
. The site, built on chalk strata, gave access to coal and iron ore via the
Andover Canal The Andover Canal (formally, the Andevor Canal) was a canal built in Hampshire, England. It ran from Andover to Redbridge through Stockbridge and Romsey. The canal had a fall of through 24 locks, and for much of its length paralleled the Ri ...
, and offered
waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous blade ...
power from the Pillhill Brook. The works came into operation in 1815, hence it is named after the great
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
. The brothers entered into a partnership with George Fowle, a relative of Robert's wife, Martha.


The Swing riots

As the industrial revolution gathered pace, a series of
riots A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...
began. Started in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
by a
Captain Swing "Captain Swing" was a name that was appended to several threatening letters during the rural Swing Riots of 1830, when labourers rioted over the introduction of new threshing machines and the loss of their livelihoods. The name was made-up and ...
, a group of 300 agricultural workers entered the works 20 November 1830, causing considerable damage. 30 men were arrested by Special constables, of which 14 were tried, 4 acquitted, and 10 eventually transported to penal colonies in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.


William's sons take over

After the opening of the
London and Southampton Railway London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
, the canal was closed, and eventually buried to make way for another railway line, which hence replaced Taskers wharf with a series of private railway sidings. In 1857, two of William's sons took over the business, coming to a licence agreement with Clayton & Shuttleworth of
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...
to sell and service their stationary boilers.


Steam engines

In 1865, the Waterloo Ironworks made its first steam engine, and until 1891 Taskers became known as a producer of bespoke steam engines, each one of which was produced to its own unique design. After William's third son Henry joined the firm, he implemented the "Economic" design of engines of 1891, which formed the first series of standard Tasker designs, using
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
boiler plates over wrought iron.


Tasker & Sons

Henry, who was now running the business, bought out his brothers interests, but the company was now left short of capital, and hence struggled through to
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Henry found new capital via a series of share sales, which resulted in the 1902 development of the standard class of 'light', just under , engine called "Little Giant," of which over 300 were made. After liquidation in 1903, and reformation in 1907, Taskers production thrived in World War I. Post-war, Taskers built a series of
road roller A road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or just roller) is a compactor-type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations. Similar rollers are used also at lan ...
s, but the economic slump brought about a second, inevitable
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
in 1926 and a further liquidation. The last steam engine, a C Class road roller, left the factory in 1927.


Taskers of Andover (1932) Limited

In 1932, the company was revived, as Taskers of Andover (1932) Limited, through the production of
semi-trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer (vehicle), trailer without a front axle. The combination of a semi-trailer and a tractor truck is called a ''semi-trailer truck'' (also known simply as a "semi-trailer", "tractor trailer", or "semi" in the United Sta ...
s. Using steel rather than iron, the product didn't require the services of the Waterloo Ironworks, which closed permanently in 1937. In 1938 the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
, which was forming plans for setting up the
Civilian Repair Organisation The Civilian Repair Organisation (CRO) was a branch of the British Air Ministry (later, of the Ministry of Aircraft Production), formed in 1939 to co-ordinate maintenance and repairs of military aircraft by civilian firms. It should not be confu ...
, sent out a tender for a recovery trailer able to carry an entire fighter aircraft. Ten days later Taskers arrived in
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
, not only with a written and costed proposal, but also with a prototype trailer. Subsequently
nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
d the
Queen Mary trailer A Queen Mary trailer is a British semi-trailer combination designed for the carriage and recovery of aircraft. The trailer was made by Tasker Trailers of Andover, with Bedford, Commer Q2 or Crossley Motors tractors. Description Features inc ...
after Cunard's , both being the largest of their type. The company gained 300 orders in the buildup to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. By the end of the war nearly 4000 had been delivered.


Tasker Trailers

Adopting the post-war name of Tasker Trailers to supply the developing
road transport Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations e ...
industry, the company had branches in
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
and
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Taken over by Craven Industries, which later itself became part of the John Brown and Co engineering conglomerate, The company manufactured heavy duty low loaders and
hydraulic modular trailer A hydraulic modular trailer (HMT) is a special platform trailer unit which feature swing axles, hydraulic suspension, independently steerable axles, two or more axle rows, compatible to join two or more units longitudinally and laterally and ...
s under a licensed agreement with Delattre-Levivier an engineering company these trailers were also exported to developing markets like
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
,
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
. It was sold as part of a package of assets in 1983 to Montracon of
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. After the closure of the works and demolition of the residual buildings in 1984, Montracon decided to consolidate its brands, resulting in the end of the Tasker brand in the late 1990s.


Preservation

In 1948, Arthur Fuller, the then managing director, decided to preserve items manufactured by the company over its existence, leading to the acquisition of 108 items which were displayed in a museum under the main offices. The collection included 23 steam road engines and a Queen Mary trailer complete with
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
, along with many items of agricultural machinery and tools from the Anna Valley works. With the sale of the company in 1968, the collection was put up for sale and the majority acquired by the Hampshire County Council Museums Service. Several preserved Tasker vehicles are displayed at the
Milestones Museum Milestones Museum of Living History is a museum located on the Leisure Park in Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK. Milestones is made up of a network of streets that have been recreated according to those found in Victorian and 1930s Hampshire. It wa ...
in
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...
, Hampshire.


References


External links


Taskers full history at Hampshire Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taskers Manufacturing companies established in 1813 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1984 Companies based in Hampshire Steam road vehicle manufacturers Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom 1813 establishments in England British companies established in 1813