September marks the 200th birthday of a man whose work not only helped shape Medway but the rest of the world.
He also flattened large parts of it too, with the help of one of his best-known creations - the steamroller.
Born in Cambridgeshire on 11 September 1824, Thomas Aveling grew up in Hoo, and after starting out as an apprentice to a farmer he took on his own farm. A keen businessman, by 1851 Aveling was employing 16 men and six boys – but more importantly had developed a sharp eye for innovation in agriculture, as he began to experiment on his farm with the use of steam technology.
In fact you might say he had become a pioneer in his field. Corny jokes aside, Aveling’s work would have a revolutionary impact; his invention of the steam plough in 1856 was so well received that a group of Kent farmers gave him an award of 300 guineas two years later, but it was the traction engine and the subsequent creation of the steam roller which would have an impact worldwide.
Having gone into business with partner Richard Porter, their company Aveling Porter would go onto sell machinery all over the world and employ 1,500 staff at its Strood site, at its peak in the mid-1890s.
One of Aveling and Porter's early traction engines, Little Tom
By that time the business had been taken over by Aveling’s son, Thomas Lake Aveling, but the memory of the company’s founder still loomed large over Medway.
Having served as Mayor of Rochester in 1868/69, he also represented Strood and Frindsbury Ward on the City of Rochester Corporation, and introduced improvements throughout the area, allowing public access to Rochester Castle Gardens, spearheading the construction of the New Corn Exchange, building a public swimming bath on the Esplanade, and bringing in improvements at Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School.
Politically he was an advanced Liberal, and was known to be ahead of his time as a Victorian employer, providing staff with recreational facilities, including a mess room and lecture room – in which Aveling himself often delivered the lectures.
When he died in March 1882, employees and residents crowded the streets as his funeral cortege travelled from Boley Hill House in Rochester to St. Werburgh Church in Hoo – with the cortege growing from an initial 37 carriages to 54 by the time it reached Hoo.
His engineering achievements earned him many honours during his lifetime, including the Knighthood of the order of Saint Francis and Joseph (Austria), and the Order of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France) – and he continues to be remembered to this day as the "father of the traction engine" with examples of his machines kept at the Science Museum and the Museum of London Transport, London.
In other words, this steamroller manufacturer had made quite an impression; but before we have Aveling rolling in his grave, we should recognise the impact of his work.
Celebrations for the pioneering Victorian engineer will take place on land off Vicarage Lane in Hoo on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September, run by the Thomas Aveling Society. Held in the very fields Thomas Aveling worked as a boy, the Hoo Peninsula Heritage Festival, featuring Aveling200, will include live music, vintage engines, tractors, classic cars, Victorian characters, a mobile bar, face-painting, refreshments including ice creams, and much more.
An exhibition on Thomas Aveling also remains open until Saturday, 14 December, at Medway Archives Centre in Strood.
Medway Council Leader, Cllr Vince Maple, said: “Medway is linked to many well-known historical figures, from botanist Anne Pratt to football pioneer Isaac Newell, inventors the Shorts Brothers to chartist leader William Cuffay, and of course Thomas Aveling.
“Thomas Aveling’s influence had a revolutionary impact, and I am proud that he gained his inspiration right here in Medway.
“One of our Rochester secondary schools was named after him in 1990, and I am pleased we continue to recognise his achievements to this day. I would encourage people to visit the exhibition at our very own archives centre in Strood as well as attending the celebrations this coming weekend in Hoo.”
Find out more about Thomas Aveling here and at the Thomas Aveling Society’s website.