IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROOFS OF HORTICULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES.” THE ROOFS OF HORTICULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Howitt, of Ilford, in the County of
Essex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
THE ROOFS OF HORTICULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES.”
THE ROOFS OF HORTICULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES.'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Howitt at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th November 1871.
I, WILLIAM HOWITT, of Ilford, in the County of Essex, 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 on a former Patent
granted to William Simpson and me, the said William Howitt, and
bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-seven, numbered 2150, for improvements in the
construction of the roofs of horticultural and other buildings and
structures. In the aforesaid former Patent above referred to the prin-

page_text: cipal feature of novelty consisted in forming the principals of roofs
hollow instead of solid by means of pipes or tubes fitting into sockets
for connecting several lengths of pipes or tubes together in a semi-
circular form.
Now whereas in practice I have found this shape of principals answer
well for roofs of small span not exceeding a span of 25 feet, I have
found it necessary in building roofs of larger span than 25 feet to
connect the tubes together by tie rods acting on the tension principle,
and further in order to give additional strength to the principals
I propose by these improvements to make the principals of two or
more segments of circles, the said segments being united or connected
together at or near the top of the principals or roof instead of making
the principals of a regular semicircular form, as described and repre-
sented by the Drawings accompanying the Specification of the aforesaid
former Patent of the 24th day of July 1867.
I propose by this Invention to connect the sockets marked E in the
said Specification together by tension rods arranged either below the said
sockets and pipes or tubes which fit thereinto or at each side of the said
sockets or otherwise, or I fix a strut or standard beneath every other
socket, and fix the tension rods by one end to each of the other sockets,
and fix the other end of the said tension rods to the bottom of the
aforesaid strut, and finally connect the bottom of each of the struts
together by other tension rods, so that according to the depth of the
strutted and tension principals thus formed in combination with the
segmental arrangement of the pipes or tubes and sockets employed
therewith I am enabled to make a very strong light roof. And it is this
combination of tie and tension rods with pipes or tubes and sockets for
strengthing the principals of roofs, and also making the said principals
or arranging the tubes and sockets thereof in the form of two or more
segments of circles instead of semicircular, that constitutes the feature
of novelty and improvement in this Invention, and by means of which
I am also enabled to construct roofs of large span, and give to them a
more ornamental and graceful appearance than roofs made of a semi-
circular shape as before stated. And this applies to roofs of 25 feet span
or less.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Howitt in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th May 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HOWITT, of Ilford, in the County of Essex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Howitt, Her special licence
that I, the said William Howitt, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Howitt, my 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 ROOFS OF HORTICULTURAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS AND
STRUCTURES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Howitt, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, 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 I, the said William Howitt, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This Invention relates to certain improvements on a former Patent
granted to William Simpson and me, the said William Howitt, and
bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of July, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-seven, numbered 2150, for improvements in the
construction of the roofs of horticultural and other buildings and
structures. In the aforesaid former Patent above referred to the

page_text: principal feature of novelty consisted in forming the principals of
roofs hollow instead of solid by means of pipes or tubes fitting into
sockets for connecting several lengths of pipes or tubes together in a
semicircular form.
Now whereas in practise I have found this shape of principals answer
well for roofs of small span not exceeding a span of 25 feet, I have
found it necessary in building roofs of larger span than 25 feet to
connect the tubes together by tie rods acting on the tension principle,
and further in order to give additional strength to the principals
I propose by these improvements to make the principals of two or
more segments of circles, the said segments being united or connected
together at or near the top of the principals or roof instead of making
the principals of a regular semicircular form as described and repre-
sented by the Drawings accompanying the Specification of the aforesaid
former Patent of the 24th day of July 1867.
I propose by this Invention to connect the sockets marked E in the
said Specification together by tension rods arranged either below the
said sockets and pipes or tubes which fit thereinto or at each side of the
said sockets or otherwise, or I fix a strut or standard beneath every
other socket, and fix the tension rods by one end to each of the other
sockets, and fix the other end of the said tension rods to the bottom of
the aforesaid strut, and finally connect the bottom of each of the struts
together by other tension rods, so that according to the depth of the
strutted and tension principals thus formed in combination with the
segmental arrangement of the pipes or tubes and sockets employed:
therewith I am enabled to make a very strong light roof. And it is
this combination of tie and tension rods with pipes or tubes and sockets
for strengthening the principals of roofs, and also making the said prin-
cipals or arranging the tubes and sockets thereof in the form of two or
more segments of circles instead of semicircular that constitutes the ;
feature of novelty and improvement in this Invention, and by means of
which I am also enabled to construct roofs of large span, and give to
them a more ornamental and graceful appearance than roofs made of
a semicircular shape as before stated. And this applies to roofs of
25 feet span or less.

page_text: Figure 1 represents an elevation of a compound Gothic rib or prin-
cipal formed of tubes shewing the manner of tieing the same together
according to this present Invention; Figure 2 represents in elevation a
portion of a semicircular rib formed of tubes, shewing the manner of
strengthening the same according to this Invention; Figure 3 repre-
sents in elevation a portion of a tubular roof drawn to an enlarged
scale shewing more clearly the manner of connecting together the
several tubes and sockets of which the principals are composed by
means of tie rods, as herein-after fully described.
At each of the above-mentioned Figures I employ similar letters of
reference to denote corresponding parts. A marks short tubes; B, B¹, B²,
are sockets fitting closely on the said tubes. The sockets B¹ have each
a strut C shewn at Figure 3, screwed or otherwise securely fixed thereto
by its upper or outer end, and the lower or inner end of each strut is
formed forked or plain to receive the links D, which are connected to
each of the struts C by a bolt or pin a. e are circular wrought-iron
rods flattened at each end, such said parts fitting into links D, to
which they are connected by keys or wedges b, c, for tightly drawing
and securely holding the tubes and sockets together; G mark other tie
rods connected to links G¹ in a similar manner to that lastly above
described, but in this case I employ two sets of tie rods and links, and
connect them to each side of each of the sockets B³ by means of a pin
or bolt d passed through each of the sockets B³ as represented at
Figure 3.
And I would here remark that although the Drawings shew the
aforesaid tie rods applied to each alternate socket I do not intend to
limit or confine myself to this precise arrangement, as in some cases
(for example roofs of very large span or bridges) it may be found
advisable to connect the aforesaid tie rods to all the sockets, and two or
more ribs can be bolted together to give greater strength.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my
said Invention for "Improvements in the Construction of the Roofs of

page_text: Horticultural and other Buildings and Structures," and the means by
which this may be advantageously effected, I would remark in conclusion
that I do not claim the exclusive use of any of the separate parts above
mentioned, represented, and referred to; neither do I claim as my Inven-
tion making the roofs of horticultural and other buildings and structures
of two or more segments of circles except when the principals of such
said roofs are composed of tubes of metal and sockets in combination
with tie rods as above described. And I hereby declare this present
Invention to consist in and I claim combining tubes and sockets with
tie rods and struts in the construction of the roofs of buildings, substan-
tially in the manner and for the purposes above described with reference
to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Howitt, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.