IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATES FOR COATING OR COVERING AND STRENGTHENING SHIPS AND OTHER STRUCTURES, AND IN FIXING THE SAME
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles William Lancaster, of New Bond Strect,
in the County of Middlesex, Gun Maker, James Brown, of Newport,
in the County of Monmouth, Ironmaster, and John Hughes, also of
Newport aforesaid, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF PLATES FOR COATING OR COVERING AND STRENGTHENING
SHIPS AND OTHER STRUCTURES, AND IN FIXING THE SAME."
Sealed the 22nd January 1861, and dated the 25th July 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles William Lan-
caster, James Brown, and John Hughes at the Office of the Commis-
sioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 25th July 1860.
We, CHARLES WILLIAM LANCASTER, of New Bond Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Gun Maker, JAMES BROWN, of Newport, in the County of Mon-
mouth, Ironmaster, and JOHN HUGHES, also of Newport aforesaid, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE.
MANUFACTURE OF PLATES FOR COATING OR COVERING AND STRENGTHENING SHIPS
AND OTHER STRUCTURES, AND IN FIXING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists, first, in manufacturing plates for the aforesaid
purposes of a combination of different metals, the outer coating being of a.
soft fibrous nature, the middle layers of a hard character, such as of steel or
homogeneous metal, and the inner coating or back surface of Brown &
Hughes' iron or other like material. The plates are to be partly manu-

page_text: factured by hammering, and are then finished in grooved rollers, which are so
arranged as to press upon and give shape to the edges as well as the sides of
the plates. The edges are to be of such a form that they will dovetail or
otherwise take into stringers formed to receive them.
The Invention consists, secondly, in fixing plates for the aforesaid purposes
by means of stringers formed of rolled or hammered metal with broad flanges,
similar to that of a bridge rail, aud with dovetailed or other recesses to
receive the plates. These stringers are placed either perpendicularly, obliquely,
or horizontally, and are to be fastened to the ship's side or other structure
with conical-headed bolts passing through the flanges, and so fitted that
the action of shot striking on the plates cannot disturb them.
cases we prefer to fix the plates inside ships at such an angle as to throw
off shot.
Plates manufactured and fixed as herein-before described are to be used
for covering fortifications and land batteries, as well as ships and floating
batteries.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles William Lancaster, James Brown, and John Hughes
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th January 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
WILLIAM LANCASTER, of New Bond Street, in the County of Middlesex, Gun
Maker, JAMES BROWN, of Newport, in the County of Monmouth, Ironmaster,
and JOHN HUGHES, also of Newport aforesaid, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Charles William Lancaster, James Brown, and John Hughes, Her
special licence that we, the said Charles William Lancaster, James Brown,
and John Hughes, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said Charles William Lancaster, James Brown, and John Hughes,
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 MANU-

page_text: FACTURE OF PLATES FOR COATING OR COVERING AND STRENGTHENING SHIPS AND
OTHER STRUCTURES, AND IN FIXING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Charles William Lancaster, James Brown, and
John Hughes, or one of us, our executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment. in writing under our, or one of our or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 Charles William Lancaster, James
Brown, and John Hughes, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists, first, in manufacturing armour plates for the afore-
said purposes of a combination of different metals, the outer coating being of
à soft fibrous nature, the middle layers of a hard character, such as of steel
or homogeneous metal, and the inner coating or back surface of Brown and
Hughes iron or other like material. The plates are to be partly manu-
factured by hammering, and are then finished in grooved rolls, which are so
arranged as to press upon and give shape to the edges as well as the surfaces
of the plates. The edges are to be of such a form that they will dovetail or
otherwise take into stringers formed to receive them. In some cases the
plates may be entirely manufactured and shaped by either hammering or
rolling only.
The Invention consists, secondly, in fixing plates for the aforesaid purposes
by means of stringers formed of rolled or hammered metal with broad flanges,
similar to those of a bridge rail, and with dovetailed or other recesses to
receive the plates. These stringers are placed either perpendicularly, obliquely,
or horizontally, and are to be fastened to the ship's side or other structure
with conical-headed bolts passing through the flanges, and so fitted that
the action of shot striking on the plates cannot disturb them. In some
cases we prefer to fix the plates inside ships at such an angle as to throw
off' shot.
Plates manufactured and fixed as herein-before described are to be used
for covering fortifications and land batteries, as well as ships and floating
batteries.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a section of a
layers of different metals according to our said Invention.
plate formed of
A is the outer

page_text: surface of soft fibrous iron; B is a core or heart of steel or homogeneous
metal; and D is the inner face of the plate made of Brown and Hughes' iron,
or other like strong fibrous iron. In some cases we form our plates of more
than three layers, as in the sectional view, Figure 2, where the heart consists
of two layers B, B, of steel or homogeneous metal with a layer of soft
iron interposed, the inner and outer faces being composed as in Figure 1.
It will be obvious, that in the manufacture of our armour plates, the number
of layers may be varied without departing from our Invention, so long as the
peculiar character of this part of it be retained, that is, so long as a heart of
steel or homogeneous metal be enclosed between a layer of soft iron intended
to become the outer face, and a layer of Brown and Hughes', or other like
strong fibrous iron, intended to form the inner face of the finished plate. The
layers are united by the hammer or rolls at a welding heat in the manner
well known to the workers in metal, and are subsequently brought to the
required shape at the sides and edges between grooved rolls, aided afterwards,
in some cases, by a planing machine.
Figure 3 is a front elevation, Figure 4 a section through the line a, b, and
Figure 5 a section through the line c, d, of Figure 3, shewing our compound
layer armour plates, and the manner of fixing them on a ship's side or other
structure, through stringers, without bolts or rivets passing through the plates.
A, A, are stringers formed of rolled or hammered iron, with flanges c, e, and
with angular grooves in the sides, as clearly shewn in the sectional elevations,
Figures 4 and 5. f. f, are bolts with conical heads driven through corre-
spondingly shaped apertures in the flanges of the stringers into the structure
which the armour plates are intended to defend. The heads of the bolts
must not be allowed to protrude beyond the upper surface of the flanges e, c.
B, B, are our compound layer armour plates, rolled with an angular tongue
on both sides, to correspond with and fit into the grooves in the sides of the
stringers. The spaces between the flanges e, e, behind the plates are filled
up with timber. Other forms of tongue and groove may be adopted for the
sides of the plates and sides of the stringers, provided they be fashioned to fit
or dovetail into each other. We have shewn the plain angular tongue and
groove as being the most simple and most easy of construction.
Figure 6 is a horizontal section, and Figure 7 a section, through the line
a, b, of Figure 6, shewing a modification in the form of stringer, and also in
the shape of the compound layer armour plates. A, A, are the stringers,
formed with dovetail grooves c, c, and fixed to the ship's side or other structure
to be protected by the conical-headed bolts D, D. B, B, are the armour
plates, fashioned with tongues at the back, and with projections and recesses

page_text: at the sides for the purpose of fitting into the stringers at the back, and of
dovetailing into each other at the sides. In this case, as well as others where
narrow plates are formed, we prefer to arrange the compound layers in such
manner that when the plates are in position, the line of the layers shall be at
right angles, or nearly so, with the face of the stringers.
Figures 8, 9, and 10 represent respectively in front elevation, in horizontal
section, and in vertical section an arrangement of our compound layer armour
plates, stringers, and means of fixing the same, similar to that last before
described, but shewing the plates curved to a radius of twenty feet, to suit a
circular fort. Figures 11, 12, and 13 are similar views, shewing the stringers
placed horizontally.
All our compound layer armour plates may be of any required thickness
when finished, say, from four inches upwards. For forts and fortifications
generally, we prefer that they should be about eight inches thick, that is,
that there should be that thickness of metal outside the fort. We find it
convenient to form the plates in lengths of about twelve feet. Although we
prefer that our Invention should be used in its entirety, yet the compound
layer armour plates may be used by themselves, and the stringers may be
used for fixing armour plates of wrought iron, steel, or other metal or
compound of metals to ships and other structures.
And having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we claim,-
First, the manufacture of plates for coating or covering and strengthening
ships and other structures with a core or heart of steel or homogeneous metal,
with soft iron for the face, and Brown and Hughes' or other hard fibrous iron
for the back of such plates.
Second, fixing armour plates on ships and other structures, whether such
plates be manufactured of.compound layers as before described, or otherwise,
by means of stringers constructed substantially in manner and for the purposes
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles William Lancaster, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of January, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
CHARLES W. LANCASTER. (LS.)