Rooted in Longham’s History, Growing with the Community

Our story begins in the heart of Longham, where the land backing onto the River Stour once housed just a few humble cottages for local farm labourers in the 1920s.Once believed to be part of the Canford Estate. As the area grew, so did its purpose — the site later became home to a blacksmith’s forge run by Harry Grey, serving local agricultural needs.

The Rise of Garden Machinery in Longham

In the late 1960s, Longham became a hub for garden machinery with the arrival of J.T. Lowe, a major distributor and retailer with branches in Devizes and Romsey. In 1969, J.T. Lowe’s warehouse and facilities were acquired by Flymo, laying the foundation for what is now Haskins Garden Centre.

While Flymo took over the main site, the corner shop at the roundabout remained independent — a small but significant detail in the area’s business evolution.

A Legacy of Local Businesses

The corner shop was later purchased by Keith Furniss, who opened Maple Engineering, a garden machinery showroom managed by Phil Damen, while his brother Gerald Damen stayed on as a mechanic at J.T. Lowe. Eventually, Flymo re-acquired the corner site and launched J.T. Lowe Garden & Leisure, with machinery on the ground floor and leisure goods upstairs.

Keith Furniss then “moved across the road” to the former Graham Moore Autos building and established Longham Mowers, once again with Phil at the helm. Keith went on to build other successful businesses, including Rent Equip, Rent-a-Loo, and Party Hire.

The Growth of Longham Garden Machinery

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Longham Mowers continued to thrive — first from the Ringwood Road site (now Greggs) and later at Longham Bridge.

In December 2000, the business was sold to Tye Hayes, and his son Chad who already owned Ashington Garden Machinery located at The Oaks Garden centre on Queen Anne Drive (now closed). Chad carried on the family passion under the name Longham Garden Machinery. In 2021 Chad then took on Christchurch Powr tools, a long-established garden machinery business based in Christchurch, now known as Christchurch Garden Machinery.

Though much has changed over the decades, our roots in the Longham community remain strong. As a family run business for over 25 years, We’re proud to be part of a rich history of local, independent business, serving generations of customers with quality garden machinery, honest service, and expert advice from our experienced sales team and workshop engineers.

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Please note prices and specifications are correct at the time being entered on our website, however these may be subject to change.