AN IMPROVED DOUBLE BELL AND GUN ALARM
Year: 1810

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
MILNE, of Bridlington, in the County of York, Collector of His Majesty's
Customs there, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the First day of October, in
the fiftieth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin
Milne, my exors, adññors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Benjamin Milne, my exors, admors,
and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED DOUBLE BELL AND GUN
ALARM;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that if I,
the said Benjamin Milne, shall not particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause
the same to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within two
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages
whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and become void,
as in and by the said recited Letter Patent, relation being thereunto had, may
more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Benjamin Milne, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained as follows, that is to say :-
In the perspective Drawing hereunto annexed, A, A, represents a box made
of mahogany or deal, about two feet four inches long, one foot ten inches high,
and ten inches deep, inside measure; but the said dimensions may be varied at
the choice of the maker without injuring the effect, and for this reason no
particular scale is required to be inserted. B, B, two doors which are thrown
open by the springs when the alarm goes off. C, a blunderbuss or other well
constructed firearm with its lock. D, D, a steel spring and two bells. E, an
upright frame of cast iron or other fit material, to which the long lever trigger
and stamper are screwed. F, an iron stamper, when it falls the gun and bells
go off, and the doors are thrown open. G, a trigger which supports the
stamper; the bells are hooked on a hole in the side of the stamper near the
brass nob; the trigger has a smallar end whereby the other end is raised to
permit the end of the long lever to pass under it. H, a long upright lever
which supports the trigger, stamper, and bells, small lines of whipcord or other
string or wire are fastened to the lower extremity thereof, by which the alarm
is discharged. I, a brass knob fixed in the middle of the stamper, by which it
is raised to the top of the box; there is a hole in the side wherein to hang the
bells. K, a small iron bolt near the bottom of the long lever; when this bolt
is put up to the cast iron frame the long lever will be secured in its place, and
the alarm cannot go off either by accident or design. L, L, springs which
throw the doors open when the alarm goes off. M, a long iron bar upon the
right hand door. N, an iron tumbler; when the stamper falls it draws the gun
trigger, and also the bolt which is fixed on the front of the box at N: sce
& Drawing of this bolt at W v, with the end of the right hand door bolt as
barred. O, the blunderbuss trigger wire. P, a steel spring behind the the
upright cast iron frame; when this spring is put down tight to the but end of
the gun, the recoil will be stopt when the gun is discharged. Q, Q, a metallic
pan upon the floor of the box; it is to catch scatter'd gunpowder,. and the plates
on the back and top are to prevent any possibility of fire. R, a lock upon the
left hand door to secure the whole from wet or molestation. S, small lines of
packthread connected with the buttons at X on the ends of the box whereby
the alarm is discharged; they are fastened to doors and windows, conducted
across passages, garden walks, areas; if left rather slack a person crossing them
will not feel the touch before the alarm be gone off. N.B. The lines should be.
elevated about two feet six inches. T, cast iron clogs which are to be laid

page_text: upon the ground, on tables, chairs, or on any convenient place, to let down to
the bottom of fish ponds, &c.; there are iron loops fixed in them with a small
nitch wherein to put the small packthread line in an instant, and then it may
be conducted many ways to windows, doors, &c. The large iron clogg weighs
sixteen pounds, the wooden rod V, which is put upon it by a wire pin, is of
tough ash three feet long; the brass roller at one end must touch a door, and
the clogg remain at some distance; the cleat or hasp at the other end is to
turn the small string round twice, when it will be fast; the line having con-
nection with the button at X, the least motion of the door will discharge the
alarm; the cloggs are handy, and may be easily removed; there are brass loops
to screw into trees, drive into walls, to conduct the packthread strings by, &c.
And in order that the use and application of my said Invention may
be more correctly understood and made, I have added the following regulated
instructions, namely; first, place the box firmly in an horizontal and perpen-
dicular direction upon the ground, on a table if it hang against a wall or in a
tree; this precaution must be observed or the bells will not vibrate regularly.
2nd, lift up the iron stamper by the brass knob to the top of the box. 3rd,
bring down the tail of the trigger, with your right hand to a level, 'till the other
end is raised sufficiently high to permit the end of the long iron lever to pass
under it; the stainper will then be supported. 4th, push up the small bolt which is
near the bottom of the long lever and the alarm cannot be pulled off; now you
may place your strings. Fifth, raise the spring which is behind the iron
upright frame, and it will remain there. 6th, put up the bells to the hole in
the side of the stamper near the brass knob, and they will hang there. Seventh,
move the but end of the gun back a little to clear the muzzle end, bring the
muzzle end forward, and the gun will come out. 8th, charge the gun. 9th,
return the gun, first put the but end of the gun into its place, move it back a
little, and the muzzle will go into the place; put the spring at the but end
tightly down. 10th, prime and cock the gun, and hook on the trigger wire.
11th, shoot up the bolt which is upon the front of the box. N.B. You must
be particularly careful to push up this bolt before you bar the right hand door,
if you neglect, both the doors will remain shut and the sound of the bell will
not be distinctly heard. 12th, bolt the right hand door with your left hand.
13th, draw back the small bolt near the bottom of the iron lever. 14th, lock
the left hand door and take the key out. In this state of the machinery every
thing is prepared and ready, and if any of the buttons ✗, or strings connected
therewith, be drawn, the blunderbuss will give fire, and the bell be set to
ringing. And further, if you prepare the alarm early in the evening, you have

page_text: only to put up the small bolt and lock the door and all will be safe till you
wish to withraw the bolt and leave it at liberty to go off.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Milne, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and ten.
TAYLOR, Extra.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of Novem-
ber, in the year of our Lord 1810, the aforesaid Benjamin Milne came
before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifi-
cation aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stampt according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.