Breamore House Stationary Engine Rally –
11th and 12th July 2026 By David Ralph
Breamore is, without doubt, the best stationary engine rally in the UK. The 2026 event on 11th and 12th July was the third one held at Breamore and what a superb event it was.
Lots of SEAMS members either entered or visited the rally, as did other engine owners from the Sussex area. In total there were 147 engines at the event, and every single one was a quality exhibit.
This year’s special theme was Crossley engines, and there were numerous examples on display, plus a couple of First World War ear Crossley cars. The earliest engine was John Palmer’s 1884 Crossley which was placed inside the marquee. This engine was given several short runs over the weekend. Michael Haines was there with his 1886 vertical ‘inverted’ slide-valve Crossley which has the crankshaft and flywheel at the top. There were a few of this type on display.
Martin Chamney had his 4hp 1894 Crossley out for the first time in about 25 years. On the Saturday evening the engine was started with help from Sean Murrell and Steve Mills pulling on the flywheel.
It was soon running and continued to do so until it was finally shut down just after 1am on the Sunday morning.
Although Crossley was the theme this year there were quality engines of many other makes wherever you looked. Breamore really is certainly the place to be, either as an exhibitor or visitor. Some engines had come from the Netherlands, and one visitor had flown in from the USA for the event.
On the Saturday evening there was the usual bumper raffle with over 100 prizes. All proceeds from the raffle go to a chosen charity, and this year it was Guide Dogs for the Blind. The aim this year was to raise £2500 to be able to name a guide dog Otto. After the raffle there was a talk about guide dogs, and then blind engine exhibitor Pete gave an amusing and informative talk about his experiences with guide dogs. After this part of the evening was completed it was back to playing engines with many running until well after dark.
At 3 o’clock on the Sunday afternoon there is a presentation to the chosen charity and I think everyone was astounded when we were told that the total money raised this year was £4800. Someone called out for a bucket to be passed round so we could push this to £5000. With the number of 5, 10 and 20 pound notes been placed in the bucket the final figure will have easily exceeded £5000. This was great news as this allowed for the naming of two guide dogs which will be called Otto and Crossley.
The theme for next year at Breamore hasn’t be announced yet, but there will be a special display of engines from the Richard Amos collection. Anyone that has bought one of Richard’s engines please make an effort to bring it to Breamore so we can put on a fitting tribute to Richard.
Thank you to the Barnes brothers and all their helpers for organising such a brilliant weekend.