Ivel Agricultural Motors
From Graces Guide
Ivel was a make of both tractors and motorcycles.
- 1860 Daniel Albone was born in Biggleswade, in Bedfordshire, and was one of the early tractor pioneers in Britain. He was brought up on a small farm and his interest in cycling led him to set up the Ivel Cycle Works. He was the first to introduce the internal combustion engine to the ordinary farmer.
- 1901 He built his first tractor. This was a three wheeled design and was powered by various engines producing 8 HP.
- The tractor was called the Ivel, the name which Daniel Albone had used for his cycle business and which was the name of the river which ran through Biggleswade.
- The Ivel tractors were sold overseas in eighteen countries, however in Britain most farmers relied on steam power and horse power in the beginning of the twentieth century.
- Daniel Albone kept an Ivel tractor and a range of machinery on land near his factory and held demonstrations of farming by tractor power every fortnight.
- He demonstrated the tractor as a fire engine complete with crew dressed in firemen's uniforms; he showed one turned into a military ambulance using steel cladding to protect the driver; one was also used to show how medical supplies could be hauled over rough ground.
- 1906 Dan Albone died at the age of 46.
- 1920 The company went into receivership.
Motorcycles
- Ivel were motorcycles produced from 1901 to 1903.
- A strengthened bicycle frame was fitted with a Minerva engine, and in 1903 he offered a tricycle, with the frame being further strengthened, and again fitted with a Minerva engine.
- Daniel Albone also built a car, but was better known in the tractor world.
Sources of Information
- The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press 2004 ISBN 1 86126 674 X
- From 1890 to the Present Day Farm Tractors by Michael Williams published in 2005 by Silverdale Books ISBN 978-1-84509-251-1
- The Complete Encyclopedia of Tractors by Mirco de Cet published in 2006 by Rebo International ISBN 978-90-366-1893-9