IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO HURDLES
Year: 1883

page_text: "
I
LETTERS PATENT to Athol Edward Maudslay, of Littlebourne, in the County
of Southampton, Gentleman for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN AND
RELATING TO HURDLES "
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Athol Edward Maudslay at;
..the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th March 1883.
ATHOL EDWARD MAUDSLAY of Littlebourne in the County of Southampton
Gentleman "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO HURDLES
"
11:
My invention relates to iron hurdles and is designed to supersede those which
have heretofore been used for folding sheep, or for fencing off and protecting lawns
for tennis or other games, and enclosing or partitioning off spaces of ground, or
forming temporary fences for various purposes
One important feature of my said invention is the novel construction of the part
of the hurdle which enters the ground
Iron hurdles as ordinarily heretofore made have a series of points or prongs
projecting from a horizontal cross-bar at the foot of each upright end bar of the
hurdle; And it frequently happens that in trying to force these prongs into the
ground one or the other is broken.; I therefore avoid the use of these series of
prongs or points and construct the feet of my improved hurdle as follows, that is
to say, I form a point or prong at the extremity of each upright bar to which the
horizontal bars are connected and at a suitable distance above the point or
extremity I firinly fix a cross-bar having its flat side resting on the ground and in
its centre a slot through which the vertical bar passes. Constructed thus the
part of the hurdle which enters the ground consists of a single central point or
prong (which may be twisted into a spiral form) and is a continuation of the
upright bar and of equal strength therewith, and is practically unbreakable by
any force that will be exerted to urge the same into the ground
Another very important feature of my invention is the provision for readily
connecting and disconnecting a row or series of hurdles so that in enclosing a
space for folding sheep or for any other purpose, they can be very quickly secured.
and when it is desired to remove them or change their position they can be quickly.
ID: 011

page_text: detached and separated and as readily reunited and secured together. For this
purpose I have devised a fastening which enables me to dispense with bolts screws
cotters or other devices which require a wrench or other implement to adjust them,
that is to say I provide the upper end of the upright bar in the following manner
with a metal link or strap or coupling of thick iron wire or other material which
provides the means for the ready connection and disconnection of two adjacent
hurdles but cannot be accidentally removed or displaced. To effect this object I
turn over the upper portion of the said bar in such a manner as to form a long slot
or loop in which I secure a square rectangular or circular link so arranged that it can
be moved freely up and down in the said slot but cannot be removed therefrom.
When two of these hurdles are placed together the end of the one fitted with this
contrivance may be placed adjacent to the end of the other hurdle not provided
with such contrivance; (or when the links are long enough the two ends thus
provided may be placed adjacent to each other) then the said link can be raised in
its slot in the one hurdle and dropped over the bar of the other hurdle, the upright
or vertical bar of which is bent inward or toward the centre of the hurdle of which
it forms the upright and vertical end bar-the two hurdles being thus securely
connected.
I usually rivet the horizontal bars into the vertical bars of these hurdles but I
sometimes secure them by means of screw-nuts to facilitate the disconnection of
the said vertical and horizontal bars for the sake of convenience in carriage or
transport.
If desired it is easy to arrange one of the said hurdles to serve as a gate. For
this purpose 'the upper end of the vertical bar of the said hurdle may be secured
to the adjacent hurdle as above described with the slight alteration mentioned. I
also make some of these hurdles with their lower end held by a link or by a pin
or bolt passed through a slot or by other suitable means.
For the gate hurdle the coupling link or ring at the top should be round and
the prong or point that enters the ground should be made round, and instead of a
flat cross bar there is a circular foot of sufficient diameter to afford a steady
support to the gate.
My improved hurdles may be conveniently fitted with wire netting to form
poultry fencing and may be made any height and in some cases they may be.
provided with canvas, laced or otherwise, secured thereon to form a convenient
and efficient shelter for the ewes and lambs in the lambing season

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Athol Edward Maudslay in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th September 1883.
ATHOL EDWARD MAUDSLAY, of Littlebourne, in the County of Southampton,
Gentleman, "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO HURDLES
"
My invention relates to iron hurdles chiefly designed to supersede those which
have heretofore been used for folding sheep or for fencing off and protecting lawns
for tennis or other games, or for enclosing or partitioning spaces of ground or
forming temporary fences for various purposes.
0
By my invention iron hurdles may be constructed so cheaply as to render
advantageous their use for sheep and cattle fencing in place of the old fashioned
wattle and oak hurdles. Moreover I make my improved hurdles so that they may
be securely fixed in the ground without the use of nuts or bolts which, from
exposure to the weather and neglect of proper precautions, soon become rusty and
can therefore only be removed with great difficulty, and which are often lost. In
fixing or removing hurdles made on the old principle, a screw-wrench or spanner is
required and consequently a good deal of trouble is occasioned; and when the said.
hurdles are once fixed in the ground it is almost impossible to remove them
without tearing up and disturbing the soil; this Operation moreover takes a long
time, so that very rarely is any attempt made to remove them. All these
difficulties and inconveniences are obviated by my invention; my improved
portable hurdles can be fixed in the ground, and securely coupled in a few minutes
so as to form an enclosure for horses, cows or sheep, and can, if desired, be made
high enough for deer-park or poultry fencing, and the horizontal bars are in some
cases made so that they can be detached from the vertical standards for convenience
of transport.
I prefer to make my hurdles five feet long for this reason; as a rule the men
who fix the hurdles are gardeners, shepherds, farm-labourers or other persons who
are not very quick at figures and have a very unreliable appreciation of distance
and space; by making my hurdles in five feet lengths, the said persons will more
readily ascertain the number of hurdles required to enclose a given space than
would be the case if each hurdle were six feet long.
My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved portable iron hurdle.
Figure 2 is an end view of the same
The remaining figures of the drawings are hereinafter described.
a, a' represent two vertical standards between which are arranged a number of
horizontal bars b at right angles to the said standards and rivetted or screwed
thereto. In some cases I fix a vertical standard midway between the said standards.
I make each of the vertical standards a, a' with a prong c designed to be forced
into the ground, this prong is a continuation of the vertical standard but is
widened at its upper part and twisted and is tapered or wedge shaped. At the
foot of the vertical standard and just above the twisted prong I fix an iron plate d,
preferably about two inches wide and eighteen inches long; when the prongs c are
forced into the ground the plates & rest flat upon the same and thereby prevent
the hurdle from being capsized when any unusual lateral pressure is brought to
bear upon it. The top of the vertical standard a¹ I bend inward and then
downward on to the top horizontal bar so as to form a slot e, and in doing so I
enclose an iron link f, as shown in Figure 1. The top of the vertical standard a
I bend slightly. inward as shown at a³ in Figure 1. When two hurdles are fixed

page_text: end to end the link f of the standard a¹ of one hurdle is passed over the top of the
vertical standard a of the next hurdle, the two standards being pressed together by
hand. When the hand is removed the link is retained on the standard a by the
curved part a³.
In some cases I use the form of coupling shown in Figures 3 and 4, Figure 3
being a front elevation of parts of two standards coupled together and Figure 4
being an end view of one of the said standards. I make a slot.g in the vertical
standard a, which slot terminates at its upper extremity in a circular hole, and I
make a similar slot gl, but without the circular hole, in the vertical standard a¹ of
the adjoining hurdle. In the slot g¹ I arrange a pin or bolt h having a head at
each end, which pin is movable in this slot but cannot be withdrawn therefrom,
owing to the projecting head ; the head h; as shown in Figure 3, is like a rivet
head and when it is passed through the hole made in the vertical standard a and
the pin is allowed to fall in the slots g, g¹, the two hurdles are securely coupled
together.
I sometimes make these hurdles as shown in Figures 5, 6, 7. and 8, so that they
can be converted into seats, that is to say, on either side of the vertical standard a¹
I fix a bracket i at right angles to the horizontal bars, and on the third horizontal
bar from the top I hinge an iron seat; which can be allowed to fall down on either
side of the hurdle on to one of the said brackets. And upon the second horizontal
bar from the top I arrange a pivotted catch k, which, when turned upward, allows.
the seat to fall, but when the seat is raised and is flush with the horizontal bars
the said catch can be slipped over it so as to retain it in its place. The seat when
thus held or secured forms a part of the hurdle and fills up the space between the
second and third horizontal bars as shown in Figure 5. This seat can, if necessary,
be provided with a stay l'as shown in Figure 7 to add to its strength and form an
arm at either end of the seat; this stay is made with a slot through which passes
a screw as shown. I sometimes strengthen and support the seat with movable
legs m as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
"
These hurdle-seats are very convenient for enclosing lawn. tennis, croquet or
cricket grounds, as the hurdles can be fixed with very great ease and rapidity and,
when fixed, not only enclose the ground but form seats for the spectators at a
position furthest from the balls and in every way suitable for witnessing the game.
These seats can also be used at intervals in iron fencing on either side of a long
carriage drive, where a park or meadows are to be separated by hurdles from the
drive, thus affording a resting place for persons walking from a lodge to a house
without necessitating the use of a separate iron or wooden seat with independent
supports.
11.
These seats can also be used to support an iron corn bin, or hay rack or a water
trough n as shown in Figure 7 for watering horses, deer, cows or other animals
turned out in a paddock, park or other enclosure, thereby saving the expense of a
separate water trough, manger or hay rack."
In some cases I make my hurdles, when not made as seats with a trough in the
lower portion-hung on a pivot for watering or feeding sheep.
"I sometimes make a hurdle, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, with a part o which
can be folded up almost flush with the hurdle, but which, when unfastened in a
siinilar manner to the said seat, at once falls forward so as to form a hay rack so
contrived that sheep or cattle cannot waste the hay or tread it underfoot.
I also make hurdles, in some cases, as shown in Figure 11, with tubular
horizontal bars b₁ into which slide the rods b fixed at one end to the vertical
standard a³. I attach a handle p to the said standard, and at the base of this
standard is the flat plate or foot d'above described, but no prong is provided for
entering the ground, consequently the standard a³ and bars b₁ can be slid back-
ward and forward in the tubular bars, thus forming a perfect gate. If this burdle
is made five feet long this gate is large enough to drive a cart through, and when
closed the said gate forms a portion of the fencing and can be coupled and firmly
secured to the next hurdle. If desired, two sliding gates on this principle can be

page_text: arranged adjoining one another so that when both gates are pulled out they can
be coupled together, and when they are slid back into the hurdles an opening ten
feet wide will be obtained through which a drove of sheep or cows can pass with
greater safety than through a narrow opening. I sometimes make the rods b² to
slide through holes in the vertical standards a slight distance either above or below
the horizontal bars instead of through the said tubular bars.
I also construct what I term make up hurdles" on the same principle. In
fixing hurdles, when approaching a post, a building, or a fence, one hurdle is
sometimes too long to fill up the space that remains and would, were it used,
overlap the adjoining hurdle and look clumsy and unsightly, besides which it could
not be securely coupled unless tied to the hurdle which it overlaps; but I make
a hurdle similar to that shown in Figure 11, that is to say, with rods sliding either
through the tubular bars or through holes in the vertical standards, which rods
can be adjusted to the exact length required, and I sometimes fix the ends of these
sliding rods, away from the hurdles out of which they slide, to a vertical standard
with a twisted prong and flat foot at its base; or if the said standard abuts against
a building the prong can be dispensed with and a gate-hurdle similar to that
shown in Figure 11 be used and secured to the building.
I also make hurdles as shown in Figures 12 and 13 with tubular bars b¹ and
sliding rods b² the free ends of which rods are not fixed to a vertical standard but
are secured to the next.hurdle, thereby saving the cost of a vertical standard and
forming what has all the appearance of a continuous fence. I make these bars
with heads or projections 6s which fit into holes in the vertical standard a¹, or;
into the tubular bars, of the adjoining hurdles.
I sometimes form a large bay-rack by placing two hurdles about eighteen inches
apart, and providing stays which hold the vertical standards apart. To the second
liorizontal bar of each hurdle I fit bars with curved ends so as to form a bottom
to the rack, or in some cases I use an iron plate which forms a bottom to the
rack. And I also, in some cases, remove the bottom plate at the foot of the
hurdle and slope the said hurdles, supporting them with a stay abutting from
each of the end vertical standards, these I make for folding sheep and enabling
them to feed off fresh pasturage without contaminating, the same or treading it
under foot.
In some cases I make hurdles with only two horizontal bars one' at the top and
the other at the bottom, and I arrange between the said bars wire netting having
a strong selvage. Hurdles thus arranged serve for making low poultry fencing.
I also in some cases provide my hurdles with a strong sheet of canvas painted or
tarred so as to be weather proof; this canvas I lace to the vertical standards a a¹
and to the top and bottom horizontal bars b, as shown in Figure 14, to form a
shelter for ewes when lambing on high downs and in other exposed situations,
instead of thatching wattle hurdles with straw as is the usual custom.
these hurdles with canvas thus laced on 'them may. if desired be arranged to form
a shelter for a shepherd as shown in Figure 15, thereby providing not only sides
impervious to the weather but also a waterproof roof; and I also make these
hurdles with lamb-creeps.
Five of
I sometimes make my improved hurdles with the horizontal bars to unscrew
for conveyance up country in pack saddles or in waggons or for transport on
board ship as before mentioned, that is to say, so that the horizontal bars can be
readily detached from or attached to the vertical standards..
In some cases' I make the hurdles so that the two upper horizontal bars can
be displaced, lowered or moved aside so that a person can step over the
lower bars.
T
In Figures 16, 17 and 18 I have shown a hurdle made with a fixed seat j¹ and
a movable seat j. The seat when secured in the position shown in Figure 17*
forms part of the fence, and it can be lowered into the position shown in
Figures 16 and 18 to permit a person to step on and over it. A somewhat similar
arrangement is shewn in Figures 19, 20 and 21 in which j² jare movable. seats

page_text: one of which can be lowered on one side of the fence and the other upon the
opposite side thereof to permit a person to step over either out of or into the
enclosure protected by the hurdles. In some cases I extend one of the vertical
standards a short distance above the top horizontal bar as shown at a* in Figure 22
to afford a rest for the hand when a person is getting over the fence and I make
the hurdle very short as shown and provide it with a strengthening bar b..
.
I also make an economical portable continuous fence as shown in figure 23, that
is to say, I employ a number of independent vertical standards a³ each provided
with a twisted prong c to enter the ground and a flat foot d to rest thereon. In
these vertical standards I make a number of slots or openings g2 each terminating
at the top in a circular hole as above described. I provide a number of long rods
or pieces of wire 65 having at either end a head or enlargement be similar to a
rivet head. I-pass these rods through the said holes in the vertical standard and
allow them to drop into the slots so as to retain the rods therein. The other ends
of the rods are then passed- through the holes in another vertical standard and
allowed to drop into the slots, thus filling up the space between each vertical
standard, and making a very serviceable continuous fence. This is the cheapest
description of fence that can be made in iron, it forms a continuous wire fence yet
it is very easily removed and it is an improvement on-the ordinary wire fence
inasmuch as the ordinary wire fence is neither portable nor casily removed. At
either end of this fence there is a vertical standard, and attached to these standards
are two stays q having strong iron plates q¹ obliquely fastened to their base. These
plates are buried in the ground and the standards are then bent over and away
from the wires or horizontal bars and the stay is fastened thereto with two small
iron bolts or rods with enlarged heads as above described. When these small bolts
or rods are allowed to drop into the slots they securely fasten the stay to the
standard and strain the wire or light iron rod tightly between the two vertical
standards at either end of the fence.
The ends of the said rods or wires may if desired be made as shown in
Figure 24 so that two of them may be inserted in the same hole in the vertical
standard.
.
In Figures 25 and 26 I have shown another mode of constructing the hurdles.
The horizontal bars b are made with a ring or eye r at each end which fits upon
the vertical standard a7 as shown in Figure 26, and is supported thereon by a
collar or stop-ring 8-Circular plates d' are, in this case, fitted upon the vertical
standards instead of the oblong plates above described and the vertical standards
are round instead of flat. A gate may if desired be constructed in this manner.
This mode of construction forms a hinged or folding hurdle
Figure 27 shows what I term an unclimbable garden hurdle which is made with
two horizontal bars 67 connected to two vertical standards a a¹ and carrying a
number of vertical bars t. These hurdles may be coupled or connected in the
manner illustrated in Figure 23.
In Figure 28 I have shown a tool which may be driven by means of a mallet
into the ground to make holes to receive the vertical standards, but this tool is
only necessary when the ground is very hard.
Figure 29 shows an arrangement of a gate designed to be fitted in a position
where it will not be frequently required. The bars 6' are free to slide in holes in
the vertical standard a and can be passed through holes and allowed to drop into
slots in the standard a¹..
Figure 30 shows another form of gate connected to the vertical standard a in a
manner somewhat similar to that shown in Figure 25, that is to say, it is made
with rings fitting upon the vertical standard a³.
All of the above are improved modes of constructing and utilizing iron hurdles
but the chief features of iny said Invention are the modes of fitting and supporting
the hurdles in the ground and coupling them together. In the use of iron hurdles
on the old principle, although great care is exercised the hurdles are frequently
broken in endeavouring to remove.them, as, when buried in hard ground, it is very

page_text: no
difficult to withdraw them therefrom; and they all appear to break. at the same
place close against the foot of the vertical standard. With my hurdle there
liability to break as the prong can be driven straight into the ground by the
pressure of a person's foot and does not require any hammering or excessive force
and has to bear no very great strain; my hurdles are therefore very advantageous.
as compared with those made upon the old principle. Iron hurdles as first above
described can be supplied very cheaply and if well painted with anti-corrosive
paint will last a long time with proper care.
In many of the large sheep farms, wattle hurdles which cost eight shillings, per
dozen are used and with constant wear and ill usage they generally last only one
season. The farmer has moreover to buy the shackles and shores; and in frosty
or dry weather an iron rod must be employed to make a hole for the shore and a
great amount of labour, waste and expenditure are necessitated.
"
My improved iron hurdles, when treated with proper care, are very durable and.
will save a great deal of labour and expense. Moreover with my canvas covered
hurdles a shelter is afforded for the ewes and lambs, and for the shepherd, thereby.
saving the expense of a corrugated iron shepherd's house.
I further construct hurdles as shewn in Figures 31, 32, 33 and 34 with only
two horizontal bars one at the top and the other at the bottom, and between these
bars I fix, by lacing or other suitable means, an iron or steel plate v about one
sixteenth or one eighth of an inch thick. These hurdles I make of various sizes
and fix them in the ground and couple them together in the manner hereinbefore.
described. I sometimes use the hurdles so constructed as a bullet-proof stockade or
pallisade as shown in Figure 34, for troops engaged in active warfare. In these
plates I make holes v¹, each protected by a small circular iron shutter w working
on a pivot w¹ as shown in Figure 33. In some cases I make these hurdles so small
that each hurdle can be taken to pieces and carried on the backs of two men ;.
these small hurdles may be fixed in an inclined position as shown in Figure 32, so.
that riflemen can lie flat down behind them and be fully protected from musketry
fire. This means of protection is preferable to the use of a spade in throwing up.
mounds or earthworks behind which to seek shelter, as in many cases where the
ground is stony and hard, or sandy and unbinding, it is impossible to use a spade
or pickaxe with any advantage; moreover when an entrenchment is abandoned
and falls into the hands of the enemy it can be used by them for protection;
and should troops, having made such entrenchinents, quit the shelter they afford,
the trenches and mounds so constructed would impede the progress of the cavalry,
infantry and artillery who follow them, without affording them any shelter. But
the small iron fence I have described does not disturb the evenness of the ground
and can be shifted from one position to another and will afford instant shelter.
Iron hurdles of this description are bullet-proof and, if sloped; the bullet that
hits them will bound upward so that by the time it falls to the ground it will be
spent and powerless to harm any one.
I make these hurdles very high so that they may be transported upon a light
field carriage; and by fixing them in the ground, and coupling them together I
can form an enclosure for the protection of the surgeons, hospital contingent, field
telegraph office, army service corps or other non-combatants. For example I may
make a tent as shown in Figure 35 the roof of which may consist either of canvas
or of triangular iron plates fixed to iron rafters.
And I furthermore make stall-divisions and mangers of these hurdles, for.
separating and foddering horses in tents or in the open air.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish it understood that I claim
First. The improved means for coupling or connecting hurdles, substantially as
described, consisting of the link held, but free to slide up and down, in a slot
formed in one of the vertical standards by bending the top thereof, which link is
arranged to be passed over the curved end of another standard as above set forth.
Second. In a hurdle, the twisted prong forming a continuation of the vertical

page_text: standard and arranged in combination with the plate or foot designed to rest upon
the ground, substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Third.. The rods or bars provided with heads or enlargements at their ends and
adapted to fit into the slots in the vertical standards; substantially as, and for the
purposes, set forth.
Fourth. A hurdle so constructed that the horizontal bars can be readily
détached from, or attached to, the vertical standards as, and for the purpose, set
forth.
Fifth. A hurdle constructed with a portion or portions thereof movable on
hinged or pivots, which portion or portions when lowered will form
seat, "a
hay-rack or a stile, and when raised will be flush with the other parts of the
hurdle, substantially as set forth for the purposes specified
Sixth. A hurdle constructed with the horizontal bars (with or without the
vertical standard) arranged to slide in the tubular bars. or in holes in one of the
vertical standards, só as to form a gate or an extending hurdle, substantially as set
forth.
Seventh. The combination, with my improved hurdle, of the canvas laced or
otherwise secured to the bars and standards thereof as above set forth, for the
purposes specified.
Eighth. The short hurdle made with the extension a' of the standard a' and
with the strengthening bar 64, substantially as described with reference to Figure 22
of the drawings for the purpose specified.
Ninth. The hinged or folding hurdle constructed with round standards and
prongs and with circular plates, substantially as described with reference to
Figures 25 and 26 of the drawings for the purpose specified.
Tenth. A gate constructed according to either of the modifications described
with reference to Figure 11, Figures 25 and 26, or Figure 29 of the drawings for
the purpose specified.
Eleventh. The combination, with my improved hurdle, of the iron plate or plates
perforated as shewn, with or without the shutter or shutters, substantially as
described with reference to Figures 31, 32, 33 and 34 of the drawings for the
purposes specified.
In witness whereof I the said Athol Edward Maudslay have hereunto set my
hand and seal this seventh day of September in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty three
ATHOL EDWARD MAUDSLAY (L.S.)