The Rotherham Plough

Bibliography:
Jacaranda textbook, (2022) “The Agricultural Revolution”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L_kCb2hlSdo6_XCeOT1YIMTOKzdfEtcK/view, Accessed on
27 July 2022.

Nation Museums Scotland (2022) “The story of the plough” https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-

our-collections/stories/science-and-technology/ploughs/, Accessed on 27 July 2022.

Science Museum Group (2022) “Early English Rotherham plough, 1720”

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co38812/early-english-rotherham-
plough-1720, Accessed on 27 July 2022.

In 1730, Joseph Foljambe invented the Rotherham swing plough.

The Rotherham plough replaced the old rectangular wooden ploughs because it was lighter
and used fewer animals to power it. Instead of farmers using four oxen, one ox driver and a
ploughman, the Rotherham plough could be drawn by two horses and one person.

The Rotherham plough was invented in Yorkshire, England.

The Rotherham plough significantly changed how efficiently farmers could till the land. The
Rotherham plough was quicker, more efficient and significantly lowered costs for farmers.
Timeline:
Seed drill 1701
The Newcomen Steam Engine 1712
Rotherham triangular plough 1730
The Flying Shuttle 1733
The Water Frame 1769
The “Watt” Steam Engine 1769
The Spinning Jenny 1770
The Spinning Mule 1779
The Power Loom 1786
The Internal Combustion Engine 1876