John Kyte lived at what still gets called Kyte’s Cottage. Behind it, in the garden, John used to hold an engine rally. All sorts could be seen there. There may well have been steam powered devices, but the mainstay was probably the barn engine powered with an internal combustion motor. Exhibitors at such rallies were always awarded a plaque and collections of plaques were displayed with pride, often on or by an explanation board. John, mostly, had plaques in clay, sometimes featuring a suitable item. This one is for 1985.
Plaque for John Kyte’s Garden Rally – 1985
They tell us the camera never lies, but it certainly hasn’t rendered this very accurately. It looks, here, like a hunk of metal and it most certainly is not. In truth it looks more like brick material. But good for John. He had a design incorporating a vital part of many an internal combustion engines – a spark plug.
One can imagine this being displayed at future rallies and maybe it led to, or was part of, competitive plaque designs. We are certainly pleased to have this example which has recently been given to the museum.
John, by the way, lives in Salisbury these days but many folks in Lavington remember his quirky garden rallies with affection.
Tags: 1985, stationary engine rally
Market Lavington Museum 
May 27, 2016 at 6:04 am |
I remember seeing John’s quirky plaques on rally boards in the 70s and 80s and they inspired me to have pottery ones made for my own garden rally which we used to hold in south Wales in the mid 80s. Perhaps one day I’ll blog about the plaques.
May 27, 2016 at 6:17 am |
Lovely plaques – and the rallies were fun too.