Biography

Charles Burrell & Sons were an engineering company based in Thetford, Norfolk that built agricultural machinery, steam traction and tram engines, and lorries.

The company originated with Joseph Burrell’s forge works, established in 1770 for the manufacture and repair of agricultural implements. Joseph ran the business in partnership with his brothers James and William. Joseph had three children, the youngest of which was Charles (1817-1906). When Joseph and his brothers died, the company passed to some of their children, including Charles, who took over its management.

Under Charles, the company specialised in portable engines until 1908, building their first steam engine in 1848 and their first haulage engine in 1856. From 1908 onwards, they gradually moved into self-moving agricultural engines and engines for road transport.

Charles had three sons, Frederick, Robert and Charles Junior, who joined the business. Robert, who was an engineer, died young in 1904 four years after his father had handed over control of the business to Charles Junior.

The company prospered in the years before World War One, supplying its three largest markets; the agriculture, haulage and fairground showmen. During the war, Burrell continued making engines at a smaller scale, while focusing most of their energy on the manufacture of munitions for the government. Burrells survived the war, however, in the post war years business proved harder. An increase in competition in the sector, together with the economic depression that followed the war, led to a decline in orders. This together with the shift from steam power to internal combustion forced the company to close in 1928.

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