The Sussex and Kent Weald Stationery Engine group are delighted to welcome a variety of stationary engine exhibits to our vintage section at the Highclere Game and Country Fair. Alan and Lynn Cullen have been organising the vintage section at Countryman Fairs events for many years, and have built up an impressive showcase of these fascinating machines.

An important part of Countryman Fairs ethos is the celebration of our rural heritage. The Highclere Game and Country Fair provides a comprehensive display for those with an interest in how technology has advanced throughout history, and how it has changed our countryside. The stationary engine display highlights the vast number of different uses these versatile workhorses were put to.

As the name suggests, a stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They were not normally used to propel a vehicle, but rather to drive a piece of immobile equipment such as a power tool or pump.  They were often powered by steam, oil-burning or internal combustion engines. Stationary engines were built in a wide variety of sizes, and employed for wide variety of different purposes including powering water, driving textile processing,  powering agricultural equipment ad generating electricity.

Small stationary engines such as those on display at the Highclere Game and Country Fair were frequently used on farms to drive various kinds equipment such as pumps, mills, circular saws and hay elevators. The engines were typically fitted to a wooden trolley with steel wheels so that it could be moved to where required. The engine would then be coupled to the equipment by means of a flat belt.

Some of the UK’s finest examples of restored stationary engines can be found in the display at the Highclere Game and Country Fair, and all our exhibitors will help to recreate a little piece of history for your enjoyment.