IMPROVE- MENTS IN BURIAL VAULTS AND GRAVES, AND IN MEANS OF BURYING THE DEAD
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Kendall, Stone Merchant, of Shipley,
near Leeds, in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BURIAL VAULTS AND GRAVES, AND IN MEANS OF BURYING THE
DEAD."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Kendall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th September 1874.
I, THOMAS KENDALL, Stone Merchant, of Shipley, near Leeds, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BURIAL VAULTS AND GRAVES, AND IN MEANS OF BURYING
THE DEAD," to be as follows, that is to say: -
My Invention relates to draining, ventilating, and building vaults and
graves, also in sealing up the coffin with the corpse in a manner that
will prevent any disturbance or decomposition. For this purpose I
construct for drainage a main gulley from 12 to 18 inches in diameter,

page_text: having a drain the same diameter connected to it and running the whole
length of one side of the lowest part of the land levelled and prepared.
To this main drain I make side drains running along and under the
walls of every vault or grave, or every other vault or grave. These side
drains have connections carried into and up one corner, and to the top
of every vault or grave, and are made of 3 to 4 inch clay pipes, and aro
perforated lengthways, the bottom or sand pipe to be laid with tho
perforated part up and covered with small stones; the upright pipes are
walled in the corner of the vaults or graves with the perforated parts
open to the interior of them. The bottom pipes will take all the water
arriving from the land, and the upright pipes all that gets in the vaults
or graves; I may also employ surface connections, connecting them to
the upright pipes; the whole of the work may be flushed in the ordinary
way if required.
For ventilating I build a shaft or chimney at the highest part of the
land about 30 yards high, to which I convey heat or smoke from some
adjoining building (the keeper's house for instance), or I form a fire-
place in the bottom part of the chimney, so that a fire can be kept
burning, causing ventilation and carrying away any foul air that may
arise. For this purpose I construct an airway the whole length of one
side of the land, from 18 to 24 inches square, having branches from
6 to 12 inches square, to every vault or grave, or to every other vault
or grave. I also construct openings, made in the tops of the vaults or
graves, forming air openings; these openings are placed on the opposite
sides of the branch airways and receive the atmospheric air, causing
a thorough ventilation through every vault or grave and carrying away
any foul air that may rise up the chimney or shaft.
In building my improved vaults or graves I lay out the land so that
there may be very little digging or filling up. I build boundary walls
of 6 to 10 bricks in thickness, in which I may place the main drain or
airway; to this boundary wall I set out my vaults or graves, 9 feet long,
4 feet wide, and 10 feet deep (varying these dimensions according to re-
quirement). I wall up the sides and ends with double bricks, and of the
same thickness if built of concrete or stone; the bottoms of the vaults
or graves are built of single bricks, or of the same thickness if build of
concrete or stone; all the work to be walled with cement or lias lime,
the bottoms to be afterwards asphalted or cemented about 1 inch in thick.
ness, The drain pipes and ventilation holes to be walled in, as herein-

page_text: before described. The tops or covers of the vaults or graves are to be
made in two parts, of good hard Yorkshire ragstones, 6 inches thick;
the west or head stones may be used to fix the monuments on, and the
last or foot stones for the openings in the vaults or graves, leaving an
easy and clear passage the full length of the ground. After the tops or
covers are put on the joints are to be filled with lime or concrete, and
then covered over with earth and sods about 12 inches in thickness.
For burying the dead the earth is first removed and the foot stone
taken up, and for security against foul air the perforated pipes may be
covered and the ventilation holes plugged up until after the interment.
When a burial has taken place the coffin is covered over with cement
or concrete at least 3 inches in thickness, or with a single brick and
cement, and the whole covered over with asphalte or cement, thus
sealing up the coffin and corpse, preventing any disturbance or decom-
position; but should any decomposition take place the shell or covering
will prevent any escape of foul air.
The perforated upright pipes will ventilate the vaults or graves, and
when the vault or grave is full it will form one solid mass of brickwork
or concrete, and still be ventilated and drained.
O SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Thomas Kendall in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd March 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
KENDALL, Stone Merchant, of Shipley, uear Leeds, in the County of
5 York, scnd grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Kendall, Her special
licence that I, the said Thomas Kendall, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Kendall, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the

page_text: 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 BURIAL VAULTS AND GRAVES, AND IN MEANS OF BURYING THE DEAD," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Kendall, 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 Thomas Kendall, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say:-
The said Invention relates to draining, ventilating, and building
vaults and graves, also in sealing up the coffin with the corpsc in a
manner that will prevent any disturbance or decomposition. For this
purpose I construct for drainage a main gully from twelve to eighteen
inches in diameter, having a drain of the same diameter connected to it
and running the whole length of one side of the lowest part of the land,
levelled and prepared. To this main drain I make side drains running
along and under the walls of every vault or grave, or every other vault
and grave. These side drains have connections carried into and up one
corner, and to the top of every vault and grave, and are made of three
to four inch clay pipes, and are perforated lengthways; the bottom or
sand pipe is laid with the perforated part up, and covered with small
stones; the upright pipes are walled in the corner of the vaults or
graves with the perforated parts open to the interior of them. The
bottom pipes will take all the water arriving from the land, and the
upright pipes all that gets into the vaults and graves. I can also employ
surface connections, connecting them to the upright pipes; the whole
of the work may be flushed in the ordinary way if required.
For ventilating I build a shaft or chimney at the highest part of the
land abont thirty yards hicab to which I convey heat or smoke from

page_text: some adjoining building (the keeper's house for instance), or I form a
fire-place in the bottom part of the chimney, so that a fire can be kept
burning, causing ventilation and carrying away any foul air that may
arise. For this purpose I construct an airway the whole length of one
side of the land, from eighteen to twenty-four inches square, which is
connected to openings made in the tops of the vaults and graves forming
air openings; openings are also placed on the opposite sides of the air
openings and receive the atmospheric air, causing a thorough ventilation
through every vault and grave, and carrying away any foul air that may
arise up the chimney.
In building my improved vaults and graves I lay out the lands so
that there may be little digging or filling up. I build boundary brick
walls of six to ten inches thick, in which I place the main drain or
airway; to these boundary walls I set out my vaults or graves, nine feet
long, four feet wide, and ten feet deep (varying these dimensions
according to requirement). I wall up the sides and ends with double
bricks, and of the same thickness if built in concrete or stone; the
bottoms of the vaults or graves are built of single bricks, or of the same
thickness if built of concrete or stone; all the work is walled with
cement or lias lime, and the bottoms are afterwards asphalted or
cemented about one inch in thickness. The drain pipe ventilation holes
are also walled in, as herein-before described. The tops or covers of the
vaults and graves are made in two parts, of good hard Yorkshire rag
stone, six inches thick; the west or head stones may be used to fix the
monuments on, and the east or foot stones for the openings into the
vaults or graves, leaving an casy and clear passage the full length of
the ground. After the tops or covers are put on the joints are filled
with lime or concrete and then covered over with earth and sods about
twelve inches in thickness.
For burying the dead the earth is first removed and the foot stone
taken up, and for security against foul air the perforated pipes may be
covered and the ventilation holes plugged up until after the interment.
When a burial has taken place the coffin is covered over with cement
or concrete at least three inches in thickness, or with single brick and
cement, and the whole covered over with asphalte or cement, thus
sealing up the coffin and corpse, preventing any disturbance or decom-
position; but should any decomposition take place the shell or covering
will prevent any escape of foul air.

page_text: The perforated upright pipes will ventilate the vaults and graves, and
when the vault or grave is full it will form one solid mass of brickwork
or concrete and still be ventilated and drained.
But in order to enable my improvements to be better understood I
will proceed to describe the same by reference to the accompanying
Drawing, in which Figure 1 represents a plan of a cemetery, shewing
burying vaults and graves, also the system of drainage and ventilation;
Figure 2, sectional elevation of same; Figure 3 represents a side sectional
elevation of a grave; Figure 4, front sectional elevation; and Figure 5,
plan of the same. Similar letters of reference are used in all the Figures
to represent similar parts.
For drainage a main gulley, twelve to eighteen inches in diameter, is
constructed, to which is connected a drain A of the same diameter, and
running the whole length of one side of the land. To the drain A
are connected side drains B running under the vaults C and graves D,
or under every other vault and grave. The side drains B have con-
nections or upright pipes E carried into and up one corner, and to the
top of every vault C and grave D, and are made of three to four inch
clay pipes, and perforated lengthways; F, the bottom or sand pipes G are
laid with the perforated parts up, and covered with small stones H; the 2
upright pipes E are walled in the corner of the vaults and graves with
the perforated parts F open to the interior of them. The bottom pipes G
will take off all the water arriving from the land, and the upright pipes E
all that gets in the vaults and graves. Surface connections, connected
to the upright pipes E may be used; the whole of the work may be a
flushed in the ordinary way if required. For the purpose of ventilating
a chimney I is built at the highest part of the land about thirty yards
high, to which heat or smoke is conveyed from some adjoining building,
or a fire-pace J is made in the bottom part of the chimney, and a fire
kept burning, causing ventilation and carrying away any foul air that
may arise. To the chimney I is connected an airway K, eighteen to
twenty-four inches square, to which are connected openings L made in
the tops of the graves or vaults forming air openings; gratings M may
be fitted in the openings L and N; openings N are also made on the
opposite sides of the air openings L and receive the atmospheric air
which travels through the vaults C and graves D, causing a thorough
ventilation, carrying away any foul air that may arise up the chimney I.

page_text: Having thus described my improvements, and the best means I am
acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, I would have it under-
stood that what I claim is, the general arrangement and construction
of burial vaults and graves, and method of draining and ventilating
the same;
also the means of sealing up the coffin containing the corpse
in a manner that will prevent any disturbance or decomposition, sub-
stantially as herein-before described and represented by the Drawing
annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Kendall, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witness,
WALTER JAS. TURNER, C.E.
Patent Agent,
Bradford.
THOMAS KENDALL. (L.s.)