A MODE OF COVERING AND SECURING WATER TAPS AND BRANCHES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph West, Brass Turner, of 234, Shales Moor,
Sheffield, in the County of York, for the Invention of "A MODE OF
COVERING AND SECURING WATER TAPS AND BRANCHES."
Sealed the 1st September 1858, and dated the 12th May 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph West at the Office
of the Commissioners. of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th May
1858.
I, JOSEPH WEST, Brass Turner, of 234, Shales Moor, Sheffield, in the
County of York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A
MODE OF COVERING AND SECURING WATER TAPS AND BRANCHES," to be as
follows-
Ordinary stand or water taps and branches are subject to be destroyed by
accident or easily removed when fixed in a public or exposed situation. I.
propose to guard against this by concealing and securing the taps. To the
tap, which may be of any description in use, I attach a plain or ornamental
face plate of cast or wrought iron, or such other material as may be desired,
and of such size as may be necessary; the plate can be secured to the wall
by bolts or other means. To the plate, when necessary, I secure a stock or
hollow frame to encase the tap, so that it may project from or be let in flush
with the wall; the outlet of the tap communicates with a spout in the face
plate, to which it is attached, and for the key or lever which opens the water-

page_text: way; a slot or aperture is also provided in the face plate. The lower part of
the tap is secured to an inner tube enclosing the supply pipe, and when the
plate is bolted firmly to the wall both the tap and supply pipe, which is
generally of lead, are protected from thieves or accident.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph West in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th
November 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WEST, Brass Turner, of 234, Shales Moor, Sheffield, in the County of York,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Joseph West, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph West, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph
West, 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 "A MODE OF COVERING AND SECURING
WATER TAPS AND BRANCHES," upon the condition (amongst others), that I, the
said Joseph West, 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 Joseph West, 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,
that is to say-
In the ordinary way in which water taps are placed, and also the ex-
tremities or emboucheres of stand or branch water pipes, they are, from their
exposed position, subject to be destroyed by accident and other causes, and
also when fixed in public or exposed situations are easily removed. In order

page_text: to guard against these evils and more effectually to protect and secure taps
& pipes, of whatever form they may be, I propose to apply the following
means-Placed in front and over the tap or mouth of the pipe, and pre-
ferably attached to them, I fix a plate of cast iron or other suitable material,
either plain or ornamental on the face; this plate I attach and secure to the
wall, or post, or plank, as the case may be, upon which the tap is fixed.
Sometimes, when thought necessary, I fasten to the said face plate a stock
or hollow frame of iron or other material, which serves to encase the tap, so
that it may either be let into the wall or post, or may be fixed flush with it.
The outlet of the tap or the embouchere of the pipe, as the case may be,
communicates with or discharges into a spout or mouth in the said face
plate to which they may be attached. Anywhere in the said face plate, but
depending upon the construction and position of the tap which is fixed to its
rear, I form a slot or opening for the purpose of admitting the key or lever
which opens and shuts the water-way of the said tap. The lever or key will
be of a form suitable to fit the said tap, and may of course be either plain or
ornamental. Also in some cases, when thought requisite or necessary, I
propose to fix on the rear of the said face plate a spring so arranged as to
press against the lever or key when it has opened the tap, urging it back
again whenever the force which opened it is removed, and thus prevent the
water from being wasted. The keys or levers may either be arranged so as
to be fixed to the cock and remain in the said face plate, or they may be
detached. I propose also to form another aperture in the said face plate,
through which access may be had so as to screw or unscrew the plug or valve
of the tap, and hence render it unnecessary to remove the plate excepting for
very particular purposes. The inlet or junction of the tap is attached to a
tube of iron or other material enclosing the supply pipe, which may be
let into the wall, post, or plate, as the case may be, to which it is fastened,
and covered over with cement or other suitable material, as may be found
necessary.
In order more clearly to illustrate the above description, the accompanying
Drawings are appended to this Specification, nevertheless it is clearly under-
stood that the general form, size, and arrangement of the various parts may
be modified and altered to suit the particular case to which it is applied.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the front of the face plate, which in this view is
ornamental in form. a is the mouth, from which the water flows from the
tap or pipe, the orifice of which is in communication with this mouth; b, the

page_text: slot or opening through which the key or lever b¹ is introduced to open the
tap; c, the aperture by which access is had to the plug or valve in the tap;
d, d, bolts affixing the face plate. Figure 2 is a back view, shewing a tap
attached to the face plate; 1, the key or lever, is shewn broken off'; ³, the
shoulder on the plug, on which the key fits; c', the other extremity of the
tap, by which the plug is loosened or tightened. Figure 3 is a side view of
the same, the key b¹ being shewn broken off.
Having now described my Invention, and how the same is constructed and
acts, I wish it understood that what I claim as new, and wish secured by the
before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the application of a plate or cover
over the mouths of branch or stand water pipes, and also over water taps, so
as to protect them from violence either by accident or wilfully, to prevent
their fraudulent removal, and also to prevent any one from drawing off water
from them but such as have a proper key to fit the tap, substantially as
described in this Specification and illustrated in the Drawings appended
thereto.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph West, have hereunto affixed my
name and seal, this Eleventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.