BRITAIN’S MOST
ECCENTRIC MAN.
LYNDON YORKE • MECHANICAL FOLLYOLOGIST
About.
Lyndon Yorke of Marlow, Buckinghamshire has built a reputation by producing unique one off weird and wacky mechanical devices (sometimes described as art!) whereby old mechanisms from Victorian and Edwardian times have been adapted, converted and re-utilized to amuse people.
In 2002, Lyndon was voted Britain’s most eccentric person in the ‘Kellogg’s Fruit & Nut Great British Eccentric Competition’, presented by the late Sir Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Wisdom with Lyndon Yorke at The Orangery, Holland Park, London, where he was honoured by Wisdom and was named Best British Eccentric. Lyndon built a wickerwork car and sails an Edwardian tricycle come catamaran (called the Ttitanic) down the Thames.
Eccentric Club.
For more than two centuries, the Eccentric Club was one of the most important institutions of British society. Its members were amongst those who helped to shape British culture into what it is today, and its history is inseparable from that of Great Britain itself…
Founded in 1780 then resurrected by Imants Von Weden in 2008 following the old clubs demise in 1984, for centuries it served as a meeting point for many great and original minds, pioneers of thought in artistic, literary, theatrical, scientific, legal and political circles, providing an amicable environment for their recreational and creative pastime as well as a testing ground for novel and controversial theories and approaches to the issues equally important to British society.
Following the re-launch, the Club Secretary had private meetings with HRH Prince Michael of Kent at Kensington Palace who expressed his interest and support for the new club, with the late Lord Montagu of Beaulieu (the last President of The Eccentric Club in Ryder Street) who has entrusted to the new club’s Committee his archive of documents related to the old club, thus symbolically establishing the link between the two organisations.
HRH Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH King Charles for many years were the Club’s Life Honorary Members. On the 25th of November 2008 HRH Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh granted his Patronage to the Club.
In 2012, Lyndon received the great honour of being elected onto the committee of the The Eccentric Club and given member number 001!
In the Media
Lyndon has appeared in several TV programmes and featured in various journals. TV programmes have included:
The series of ‘river machines’ have been seen at Henley Royal Regatta over the past 15 years, starting with Tritanic – an amphibious, side by side Edwardian style tricycle, the Tritanic graced the Thames at numerous Henley Royal Regattas.
This was followed by Tritania the world’s first Amphibious Electric Wickerwork bathchair fully equipped for river safaris. The uniqueness of Tritania rewarded Lyndon with free drinks up and down the river.
Dreadnought a steam fired, coal fired electric-mechanical twin paddle wheel steamboat. The ideal river machine for getting your girlfriend covered in coal soot! However the sausages cooked to charcoaled perfection in the fire box were also unique!
For Henley Festival Lyndon has produced a series of almost totally useless devices such as the ‘Whatsometer’, a very large mechanical programme, the Whatsometer mark 1 mark 2.
Then came the Buskermatic a nine piece life sized mechanical orchestra made up of copper tubing, old car windscreen wiper motors- actually 36 motors powers the Buskermatic. The control panel switches were from a WW2 Lancaster bomber aimers switching panel. See video of the on U Tube under lyndonsmachines.
Then came the Thamesical mechanical water borne pic-nicking couple pedalling to nowhere special! Several mechanical creations have followed, these include propeller driven vintage bicycle, the worlds first wicker aeroplane! (in process of being built) actually a propeller driven car! and a fully operational wickerwork car based on a 1922 Citroen B2.
