Major mower from Mayo the choice at the Palace

Itâs the next best thing to âby royal appointmentâ for Major Equipment Intl Ltd, based in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo.
Steeped in British history, Blenheim Palace has stood like a âjewel in the crownâ in the English countryside at Woodstock, Oxfordshire for over 300 years.
The 12,500-acres estate includes 2,100 acres of parkland and award-winning formal gardens connected to the palace. Blenheim is the home of the Twelfth Duke of Marlborough and his family, and a chance viewing by the Duke of a Major Tri-Deck TDR20000 mower at work led to the Irish-made machine becoming a fixture at Blenheim.
His Grace, The Twelfth Duke, said, âI saw the Major Tri-Deck mower operating at Kirtlington Park Polo Club and it was leaving a fantastic finish.â
âRight across the park, there was a lovely striped finish, something we had always wanted to achieve at Blenheim.
âI knew right off that it would be the ideal mower for us.â
The man responsible for grass maintenance at Blenheim is something of a legend in his own right.
Ron Keay is 80 years old, has been working at Blenheim Palace for 65 years, and he knows a good mower when he sees one.
âThis Major Tri-Deck mower is fantastic,â said Ron Keay. âWe used to use a 16-foot mower, but this new Major is 20 foot, and therefore we get across the ground quicker.
âItâs easy to attach, simple to adjust the height of cut.
âItâs very heavy duty, built strong for the job, simple to maintain, and follows the contours of the ground perfectly, so we donât get any scalping.
âWe cut around 3,000 acres per year, and the Major is well capable of handling that task.â
âThis new Major mower leaves it with such a perfect, striped finish that Iâm absolutely delighted with the result. Itâs the same striping effect you would get with a cylinder mower, but far less costly.â
It couldnât be a better advertisement for the Co Mayo company, at one of the UKâs most popular rural attractions, also famous as the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, which is open to the general public, year round.
âLord Randolf Churchill, Sir Winstonâs father always said as he passed through the archway, that Blenheim, was the finest view in England,â added His Grace, the Twelfth Duke of Marlborough.
âIâm sure he would feel just as much pride in seeing the beautifully mown and striped grass that we see here today.â he concluded.