IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROOFS OF HORTI- CULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Simpson, of Chilton House, Rosberville,
in the County of Kent, and William Howitt, of Manchester Buildings,
Silchester Road, Notting Hill, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROOFS OF HORTI-
CULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES."
Sealed the 21st January 1868, and dated the 24th July 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Simpson and
William Howitt at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 24th July 1867.
We WILLIAM SIMPSON, of Chilton House, Rosherville, in the County of
Kent, and WILLIAM HOWITT, of Manchester Buildings, Silchester Road,
Notting Hill, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROOFS OF
HORTICULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements upon a former Patent
granted to William Howitt, bearing date the 4th day of April, in the
year 1866, numbered 962, and the present improvements relate principally
to the semicircular principals, and consists in constructing the same in the

page_text: following manner, that is to say:-Instead of forming the principals of solid
iron as described in the Specification and represented by the Drawings of the
said former Patent we propose to form the principals hollow or of pipes or
tubes fitting into sockets. For example from the springing of the roof we
build up at convenient distances asunder according to the size of roof straight
short pipes the bottom end of the first length of pipe fitting in a hole in a
step piece fixed to the upright sides of the house, the upper end of this pipe
fits into a hole formed in a socket piece made in the form of a cross, and
these socket pieces we form of the same curvature as the sweep of the roof,
and supposing a semicircle to be described from the sides of the house and
the socket pieces connected together by the short pipes before mentioned the
semicircle should cut through the centre of the diameter of the said several
socket pieces; tubes of metal pass horizontally through the several socket
pieces for connecting the several principals together and also for the circulation
of hot water over the roof, and we would here remark that the hot water
only circulates through the two outer principals or those situated at each
extremity of the roof, the water entering and passing through one of these
principals and after circulating through the several horizontal tubes passing
through the other extreme principal and returning into the boiler, thus
keeping up the circulation of the water; for the intermediate principals solid
straight bars or rods of metal or other suitable material may be employed.
Roofs thus constructed may either be glazed or covered with slates or otherwise
according to the purpose for which the building or structure is required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Simpson and William Howitt in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 24th January 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
SIMPSON, of Chilton House, Rosherville, in the County of Kent, and WILLIAM
HOWITT, of Manchester Buildings, Silchester Road, Notting Hill, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said William Simpson and William Howitt, Her special licence that
we, the said William Simpson and William Howitt, our executors, adminis-

page_text: trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Simpson and
William Howitt, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROOPS OF HORTICULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND
STRUCTURES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William
Simpson and William Howitt, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next' and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Simpson and William Howitt,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to certain improvements upon a former Patent
granted to William Howitt bearing date the 4th day of April in the year 1866,
numbered 962, and the present improvements relate principally to the semi-
circular principals, and consists in constructing the same in the following
manner, that is to say:-Instead of forming the principals of solid iron as
described in the Specification and represented by the Drawings of the said
former Patent, we propose to form the principals hollow or of pipes or tubes
fitting into sockets. For example from the springing of the roof we build up
at convenient distances asunder, according to the size of roof, straight short
pipes, the bottom end of the first length of pipe fitting in a hole in a step
piece fixed to the upright sides of the house, the upper end of this pipe fits
into a hole formed in a socket piece made in the form of a cross, and the
socket pieces we form of the same curvature as the sweep of the roof, and
supposing a semicircle to be described from the sides of the house and the
socket pieces connected together by the short pipes before mentioned the
semicircle should cut through the centre of the diameter of the said several
socket pieces. Tubes of metal pass horizontally through the several socket
pieces for connecting the several principals together and also for the circulation
of hot water over the roof. And we would here remark that the hot water only
circulates through the two outer principals or those situated at each extremity
of the roof, the water entering and passing through one of these principals

page_text: and after circulating through the several horizontal tubes passing through the
other extreme principal and returning into the boiler, thus keeping up the
circulation of the water; for the intermediate principals, solid straight bars or
rods of metal or other suitable material may be employed. Roofs thus con-
structed may either be glazed or covered with slates or otherwise according to
the purpose for which the building or structure is required.
And in order to explain our said Invention as completely as possible we
now proceed to describe the best means we are acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Drawing
accompanying these Presents, and to the numeral figures and letters of
reference marked thereon respectively as follows:—
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure is an end elevation, and Figure 2 a side elevation of a roof
constructed according to these present improvements; Figures 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, respectively exhibit detached parts herein-after particularly described
and referred to. Similar letters of reference denote corresponding parts.
At Figure 1 A, A, are dwarf walls for supporting the roof; B are steps
bolted to the wall plates C at equal distances asunder as at Figure 2, according
to the size of the roof; D are short lengths of straight pipes; and E are
curved sockets into which the ends of the pipes D are fitted water-tight by
turning down the ends of the pipes D, as at a, Figure 3; the sockets E are
also bored or turned true to receive the ends of the pipes which should fit
tight therein and be driven close up to the shoulders 6 in the sockets. It
will be seen upon referring to Figures 4 and 5 that the sockets are made
with cross openings c, c, to receive other smaller pipes or tubes G, G, for
tieing the principals of the roof together and for connecting thereto longitudinal
pieces of timber or metal H shewn by dotted lines at Figure 2, and in cross
section at Figures 6 and 9, and to these pieces of timber bars of metal I are
bolted or screwed top and bottom, the said bars being employed to receive
panes of glass when the roof is intended to be glazed as for horticultural and
other buildings through which the light is required to pass. The panes of
glass are affixed by putty to the bars I as at Figure 7, which is a full size
cross section of one of such said bars and the panes of glass in each horizontal
row of panes lap one over the other as at d; Figures 6 and 9 pieces of sheet
metal e being affixed to the pieces H at the parts where the bars I are situated
so that by bending up the pieces e the bottom edges of the projecting panes
of glass will be supported and prevented from slipping downwards; Figure 9
shews another method of connecting the pieces of wood or metal H to the

page_text: principals, we would also remark that the sockets E' situated at the centre
and top of the roof and which extend the entire length of the building have
their cross openings c, c, made larger than the openings in the sockets E for
the purpose of connecting a larger horizontal pipe at the top of the roof for
carrying the ridge board and frieze and for hinging the top ventilators
thereto as at K, K, of Figure 1; the opening and closeing of these ventilators we
propose to effect by means of bent levers L each working on a fulcrum or
axis f, the bent ends of the levers L are connected to the framework of the
glazed ventilators at g. Figure 1 and the straight part of each of the levers
L is connected to a chain h passing over a pulley i fixed to the door posts of
the house, the lower end of the chain h is made fast to the end of a screw k
the upper end of the said screw is formed square and works in a square guide
hole in the part 1 of the casting M and the screw k passes through the screwed
boss of the mitre wheel to which rotary motion is imparted by a corresponding
mitre wheel m on the axis of which a handle n is fixed, by turning round the
wheel n in one direction the screw k will be advanced downwards thereby
pushing open its corresponding ventilator, a reverse movement will close the
ventilator.
We now proceed to describe the means by which the circulation of hot
water is effected through some of the tubes, pipes, and sockets of which the
framework of the roof is formed, observing that the hot water enters and passes
through the pipes and sockets situated at one extremity of the roof, and passes
out through the pipes and sockets at the other extremity of the roof, the
induction and eduction pipes extending downwards below the springing of the
roof as far as is necessary to complete the circulation of the water from the
boiler of the hot water apparatus. And in order that the water may pass
from the pipes D into and along the horizontal tubes G, we cut holes in that
part of the pipe G which passes through the sockets which are at each end of
the roof, and we connect the pipe G to the sockets in the manner exhibited at
Figure 5, where G* marks a short length of tubing screwed at each end and
with holes cut out a 2, 2; 3, 4, are screw nuts and collars which when
screwed tightly against the bosses 5 of the socket E securely fix the piece G¹
in the socket and connect the next length of tubing G thereto; the tubing that
passes horizontally through the sockets of the several intermediate principals
does not allow the water to pass up the said principals and the said tubes are
simply connected in lengths to the sockets by screwed collars and nuts as
before stated. Tubes P may be connected to the several sockets at the ends
of the roof, the lower ends resting in steps fixed to the wall plate B and to
these tubes pieces of wood or metal may be fixed as before stated and so made

page_text: as to receive the glazing; it is also proposed to affix an ornamental faciae at
each end of the roof by screws taking into the ends of the tubes in the several
sockets. The lowermost or any other row of panes may be mounted in frames
between each principal and be fixed on hinges so as to serve for ventilation,
the frames being all connected together may be either opened or closed at one
operation.
Roofs constructed on the above principle may be covered either with sheet
metal, wood, slates, or other materials either wholly or in combination with
glass; the above description and Drawing refer to horticultural buildings more
particularly.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of our said
Invention for improvements in the construction of the roofs of horticultural
and other buildings and structures, together with the best means we are
acquainted with for carrying the same into practical effect, we would remark
in conclusion that we hereby declare our improvements to consist in, and we
claim, constructing the principals of the roofs of horticultural and other
buildings and structures hollow instead of solid, and of tubes or pipes and
sockets either separately or in combination with longitudinal pipes, rods, or
bars as above-described with reference to the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Simpson and William Howitt,
have hereunto set our bands and seals, this Twenty-fourth day of
January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-eight.
W. SIMPSON.
(L.S.)
WILLIAM HOWITT. (L.S.)