AN APPARATUS FOR THE DETECTION OF DEPRE- DATORS WHICH WE DENOMINATE THE THIEVES ALARUM
Year: 1814

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
JORDEN, of Norwich, Engineer, and WILLIAM Cooк, of the same place,
Machine Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of His United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day
of December, in the fifty-fifth year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Jorden and William Cook, our exors, adñiors, and assigns, His
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said
Edward Jorden and William Cook, our exors, admors, and assigns, should
and lawfully might, during the term of years therein mentioned, make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, our Invention of "AN APPARATUS FOR THE DETECTION OF DEPRE-
DATORS WHICH WE DENOMINATE THE THIEVES ALARUM;" in which said Letters
Patent there is contained a proviso that if we, the said Edward Jorden and
William Cook, or one of us, shall not particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us, and cause the same to be inrolled in His
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six 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 same
(relation being thereunto had) may more fully and at large appear

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Edward Jorden and William Cook, do hereby declare that our said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof, that is to say:-
Our said Invention of an alarum to prevent housebreaking, and to detect
thieves in the act of entering an apartment by night, and for the protection
of outhouses, greenhouses, gardens, shrubberies, orchards, and every other
place which requires protection, consists of a machine or apparatus with
a lever, spring, and catch, to which is connected a string or wire, or several
strings or wires, to be carried in different directions across the apartment, out-
house, or grounds, and a bell attached if required to the apparatus, which
is made to ring very powerfully by the release of the lever spring; and also
the machine is intended to project or discharge a quantity of stones, broken
glass, or other dangerous, injurious, and mischievous matter, directly at the
person on touching or stepping upon the string or wire; and an alarum bell,
with its appendages, calculated for the interior of dwelling houses and other
outhouses, &c., the nature of which inventions or contrivances will more
evidently appear by referring to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the
following description (that is say):-
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the alarm set ready for discharging.
Figure 2 represents a perspective view of the alarum after it has been dis-
charged. Figure 4, the alarum bell by itself for inside of houses. In each and
every Figure the same letters refer to the same respective parts of the
machine. (A) is the frame, which may be made of wood, cast iron, or any
other fit material, on which the apparatus is fixed. (B) is a very powerful
and well tempered steel lever spring, at the end of which is an iron pan (C)
to contain the broken glass, stones, &c. This iron pan may or may not be
raised upon an inclined block of any angle of elevation, calculated according to
the distance intended to project the glass, &c. at the thief, so as to produce a
direct blow. (D) is a steel spring catch (this part is more clearly seen in
Figure 3) to confine the spring lever when set ready for discharging. (E) is
the trigger acting against the catch, and to the end of which is a string or wire,
or several strings or wires. (F), (G), is the bell, to the spring of which is
attached a string connected with a pin (H) to be stuck in the spring lever.
The operation of the alarum is as follows:-Place the machine in an eligible
part of the outhouses, grounds, &c., and extend the strings or wires from the
trigger, tight, in such directions as will be best calculated to intercept a
stranger on passing, and make fast the strings or wires by a spike drove into

page_text: the ground; then press down the lever spring (B) until it is held fast by the
catch (D), and load the pan (C) with glass or such materials as are best
suited to produce a rattling noise in the discharge, then pull the bell string
back by means of the string attached to it, and stick the pin (H) in a hole
provided for that purpose in the lever spring; the machine is then properly set,
and any person on stepping upon or touching the string or wire, will cause
the trigger to press back the catch spring and discharge the lever spring, in
the act of which all the stones, broken glass, &c. which were placed in the pan
will be projected with great force forward at the person passing before it; the
bell spring at the same time is released by the pin (H) having jumped out of
its hole, and very great agitation of the bell takes place, when its vibration will
produce a violent ringing for some considerable time.
Figure 4 is an alarum calculated for the interior of houses. The
plate (A) is to be screwed, nailed, or otherwise fastened against the wainscot
or wall, and the bell by its spring attached to the same, with a nut and
screw, as seen in the Drawing. Figure 5 is a view looking down upon
the catch (D) with the trigger (E), which catch is to be driven into the upper
part of the door frame. The operation of this alarum bell is as follows:-
Let a string or wire (F) be attached to the end of the trigger (E), Figure 5,
and let it be carried round the room connecting with every door and window
by running through small loops, and let the spring or wire be tight and fastened
at the end, then draw back the bell by its string, and hang the hook which is
attached to the same upon the catch (D), Figure 5; the smallest extension of
the string or wire (F) will pull the trigger, which causes the hook to slip off,
releases the bell, and produces a violent ringing.
In witness whereof, we, the said Edward Jorden and William Cook,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-third day of
June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifteen.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-third day of June, in
the year of our Lord 1815, the aforesaid Edward Jorden and William Cook
came before our said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification 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.
Inrolled the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifteen.