Bavenhill Mechanics Co Ltd has recently celebrated a significant milestone, marking 75 years in business serving the agricultural and rural community.
Founded in 1950 by two local farmers in Bromesberrow, near Ledbury, the company was originally established as a machinery repair business for local agriculture. With Trevor Bethell appointed as manager, Bavenhill quickly built a reputation for keeping farmers working, particularly during the pressure of harvest time when queues of machinery often lined up outside the workshop.
The business continued steadily for many years before entering a new phase of growth in 1978, when Robert Chapman joined the company after training in the industry. Freshly married to Gini, both remain current shareholders and directors today. Under their stewardship, Bavenhill adopted a more commercial approach, expanding into tractor and machinery retailing and taking on franchises including Fendt and Renault for a number of years.
Expansion continued with the addition of the Preston Cross site near Ledbury in 1984, with the business consolidating there by 1990. Around this time, the fruit sector became a core focus, with narrow tractors, fruit sprayers and harvesting machinery forming the backbone of the operation. In 1989, the company also began manufacturing fruit harvesting machines under the Pattenden Machinery name to meet a growing industry need.
In more recent years, demand from poultry producers has enabled Bavenhill to broaden its offering further, supplying trailed spraying equipment to commercial chicken farmers.
Clive Chapman
The arrival of the next generation has added further momentum. Clive Chapman has focused on the machinery side of the business, developing new fruit and apple harvesters while maintaining, refurbishing and supporting older machines for fruit growers across the UK and Europe. Christopher Chapman has driven growth in renewable energy, which has become the company’s leading sector, encompassing air source and ground source heat pumps, solar PV and battery storage.
Community commitment has also remained central. Over the past 18 months, Bavenhill has installed a public-access defibrillator outside its Preston Cross site in memory of Reg Watkins, a valued customer and long-standing family friend.
The company’s industry contribution has been further underlined through Bob Chapman’s long-standing involvement with BAGMA, where he served as President and sat on the Council representing independent dealers, as well as his term as President of BIRA.
Reflecting on the anniversary, the Chapman family thanked customers and suppliers for their continued support, crediting the success of the business to strong relationships built over seven and a half decades.
Today, Bavenhill Mechanics stands as a diverse, independent family business, with specialist facilities at Preston Cross supporting multiple sectors, all built on the foundations laid 75 years ago.
