Video: Happiness is a tractor for two

THEY braved snow showers to ride an old tractor in bitterly cold temperatures – and yet this wedding couple could not have been happier on their big day.
David Throup and Jessica Pearman and the last David Brown tractorDavid Throup and Jessica Pearman and the last David Brown tractor
David Throup and Jessica Pearman and the last David Brown tractor

David Throup and Jessica Pearman adore tractors almost as much as each another.

But they do not reserve their passion for any old tractors – they have to be Yorkshire-built David Brown models.

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Yesterday the bride got her wish for a wedding day to remember as her new husband, who restores David Brown tractors, took her for a spin from their wedding venue in a tractor...and straight to the David Brown Tractor Club’s Museum and Archive Centre in Meltham, near Huddersfield.

David Throup and Jessica Pearman and the last David Brown tractorDavid Throup and Jessica Pearman and the last David Brown tractor
David Throup and Jessica Pearman and the last David Brown tractor

Once there, they posed for photographs in front of their wedding vehicle which was the final tractor to roll off the Meltham assembly line in March 1988 – 25 years ago to the day.

The tractor, being old and borrowed, fulfilled two parts of the old adage and the new Mrs Throup was delighted.

“It’s cosy up there,” said the 24-year-old as she looked up at the heated cab with its single seat.

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Though shivering in the biting wind, she was delighted with her tractor-themed big day.

“It’s been memorable but freezing. You can’t help the weather.”

She added: “David is a massive David Brown fan – it means a lot to him and I just wanted a special day. The tractor has more to do with David and his hobby but I do help him out in the workshop and when we go on road runs and tractor rallies.”

For farmer’s son David, 32, it was just like the old days when he first learned to drive.

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“I learned to drive when I was four, driving a tractor around the field, although I couldn’t reach the pedals. Today was just like driving back in the 1980s when I was a kid and the tractors were brand new.

“I grew up on a farm and we were always running David Brown tractors. I thought it would be a fitting tribute to get married on the anniversary of the tractor factory shutting down.

“David Brown tractors are extremely reliable and very easy to work on. Jess helps me out with engine re-builds and she gets her hands dirty in the workshop. She’s quite knowledgeable now.”

The couple, who live in Silsden, near Keighley, decided to wed at Durker Roods hotel at Meltham because it used to be home to the man who brought tractor manufacturing to the Pennine village.

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Mr Throup ensured that the day coincided with the 25th anniversary since production ceased at Meltham.

Family and friends were equally as enthusiastic about the tractor theme.

Best man Tim Millgate, 33, said: “This is a special occasion as it’s this tractor’s 25th birthday and no-one is ever going to be able to do this again.

“To get a tractor like that, he’s a very lucky man. It’s unique, the last ever made. It was made 25 years ago today; it’s special in the tractor world. It’s British, Yorkshire-made and Yorkshire-designed.”

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The bride’s mother, Anne Webb, shivering as snow flurries swirled around her, said she was “chuffed” for her daughter and her new husband.

“I wasn’t in the slightest bit surprised (about the tractor theme). This is the last tractor and I share my daughter’s enthusiasm because she is my best friend,” she said.

“I have now gained the son I never had and we have a lot in common. He’s crackers, I’m crackers and we get on like a house in fire.”

The bridegroom’s father, 
Frank Throup, a beef and sheep farmer in Silsden, was at home 
in the biting wind, having 
seen plenty of harsh Yorkshire winters.

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“Since he was young he’s always liked David Brown tractors. He doesn’t like new ones. I am very proud of him,” he said.

Other tractor lovers looked on approvingly as the happy couple climbed up to the cab of the tractor.

Peter Murray, a committee member of the David Brown Tractor Club, said it was proud to have it in the museum collection as it had originally been taken to the United States by the parent company Case International.

“It had to be shipped over from Racine, Wisconsin. David has got married 25 years to the day and, as far as we can tell, to the hour that this tractor came off the production line,” he said.

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