West Sussex museum to honour Barrows of Banbury steam engines
29/05/2026
Up to 3,000 machines were manufactured but only 10 still exist here in the UK
An event at a steam museum in West Sussex next weekend is going to showcase working steam engines and memorabilia from a Banbury company that was a big part of the steam revolution.
The Barrows and Co steam factory was based on Lower Cherwell Street from the 1860s until just after the 1st World War. Its estimated they produced as many as 3,000 steam engines which were used around the world.
Today there are still over 30 Barrow and Co machines in Australia and 10 here in the UK.
Next Saturday and Sunday Hollycombe steam museum, near Liphook, will pay tribute to Barrows and Co at their Steam Festival. They will have six examples on show of the machines the company produced here in Banbury.
One of them is part of Hollycombe’s own collection. Rob Gambrill from the museum said: “We have a Barrows portable steam engine – a steam engine that would have been towed from farm to farm by horses. That particular one was actually used to mash apples for making cider in a nunnery, so it had an interesting life!
“We’re celebrating the Barrows and Co manufacturer and trying to bring together as much original equipment that Barrows of Banbury manufactured, in one place, with artifacts and historical records.”
Despite the company’s success it closed in 1919 when the owner died and his son didn’t want to take on the business.
Rob says a special welcome would be extended to any of the Barrows family who are still in our area today: “We’d like to see whether any descendants still survive. We know he had sons that didn’t continue the business but carried on in business, and we know they had children. No doubt they may have had grandchildren.
“The last one we’ve tracked down passed away in 1969 but we don’t know whether they had more family members. It would be amazing if we could meet a ‘Banbury Barrows’ in the flesh over that weekend. If they come along we’ll look after them and they can come in for free. Anyone with the surname Barrows can come into the show for free.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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