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Taskers of Andover were an
Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...
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 cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse trailer ...
. 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 in 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, where it was quietly 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 Hi ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
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 Abbotts Ann is a village in the parish of the same name, approximately south-west of Andover, Hampshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census, including Little Ann and Red Post Bridge, was 2,566. History The village na ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
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 A ...
. In 1809, he took over the business, but due to his non conformist
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
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 effectively an outer suburb of Andover, and is located approximately south-west of the town centre. The name 'Anna' derives from the ...
. The site, built on chalk strata, gave access to coal and iron ore via the
Andover Canal The Andover 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 River Anton and River Test. I ...
, and offered
waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
power from the
Pillhill Brook Pilhill Brook is a tributary of the River Anton in Hampshire, England. It is a chalk stream, known for its trout fishing. Toponymy The brook is believed to have been called the Ann, or Anna. The name ' is found in the Close Rolls in 1228. Cou ...
. 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 (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
. 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 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 property targeted ...
began. Started in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
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 Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.


William's sons take over

After the opening of the
London and Southampton Railway The London and Southampton Railway was an early railway company between London and Southampton, in England. It opened in stages from 1838 to 1840 after a difficult construction period, but was commercially successful. On preparing to serve Port ...
, 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 Clayton & Shuttleworth was an engineering company located at Stamp End Works, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The company was established in 1842 when Nathaniel Clayton (1811–1890) formed a partnership with his brother-in ...
of
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...
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 made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. 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 land ...
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"—especially in ca ...
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 without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer. A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a tracto ...
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, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
, which was forming plans for setting up the Civilian Repair Organisation, 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. 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 is the main ...
, not only with a written and costed proposal, but also with a prototype trailer. Subsequently
nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
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 or Crossley Motors tractors. Description Features included: * Ver ...
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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. 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 large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. Taken over by Craven Industries, which later itself became part of the John Brown and Co engineering conglomerate, it was sold as part of a package of assets in 1983 to Montracon of
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. 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 used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...
, 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 the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
, 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