IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVING FOR ROADS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Henson Henson, of No. 27, Martin's
Lane, Cannon Street, in the City of London, for the Invention of
“IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVING FOR ROADS"
Sealed the 27th April 1875, and dated the 17th February 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Henson Henson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th February 1875.
:
I, HENRY HENSON HENSON, of No. 27, Martin's Lane, Cannon
Street, in the City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVING FOR ROADS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to the paving of roads in such a manner as to
provide against noise and against the destruction of the material when
wood is employed, and at the same time to furnish a good foothold for
horses.
For this purpose I form a firm foundation in any known manner,
or I make such foundation of bricks laid upon a firm bed, over which

page_text: I place planks, preferably lengthwise of the road, and on such foundation
I place a layer of soft material of fabric, such as felt served with pitch or
asphalt, so as to be waterproof and at the same time yielding. On this
layer I place wooden blocks with a thickness of like soft waterproof
material between them.
In cases where it is desirable that the blocks so laid should be firmly
keyed together I cut a mitre recess or groove in the sides of the blocks
and place in these grooves dowel pieces, which projecting into the
recess in the two contiguous rows of blocks keep the one row from
rising without the other.
To provide foothold for horses on the face of the blocks I either
chamfer off their edges so as to form channels along their lines of
junction, or by preference I cut ✓ shaped grooves in the faces of the
blocks, keeping the jointing of the rows complete, and thereby avoiding
the formation of channels for the entrance of water between the
joints.
Instead of V shaped grooves being cut on the faces of the blocks a
number of saw cuts may be made along them, which when the paving
is covered with a layer of gravel and asphalt serve to hold in the
fragments of stone that constitute the gravel.
Another way of providing grooves for foothold is to make the
alternate rows of blocks a little lower than the others, the grooves or
hollows thus formed between the higher blocks being filled in with the
gravel and asphalt grouting.
In cases where the traffic usually runs in definite lines, instead of
laying the blocks over the whole surface of the roadway, I lay them in
rows lengthwise of the road, about the width apart, suitable to take the
wheels of vehicles, and I fill in the spaces between with a grouting of
fragments of stone and asphalt. In this case also I prefer to place the
blocks on a soft bedding, as above described, laid on longitudinal planks
supported on the foundation.
The timber employed either in the foundation or in the surface blocks
is preferably preserved against rot by any known process.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Henson Henson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th August 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HENSON HENSON, of No. 27, Martin's Lane, Cannon Street, in the City
of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Henson Henson, Her special
license that I, the said Henry Henson Henson, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Henson
Henson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time.
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there.
after 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 Inven-
tion for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PAVING FOR ROADS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry Henson Henson, my executors or admini-
strators, 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 Henry Henson Henson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to the paving of roads in such a manner as to
provide against noise and against the destruction of the material when
wood is employed, and at the same time to furnish good foothold for
horses,

page_text: Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of a portion of wood paving con-
structed and laid according to my Invention; and Figs. 2, 3, 4,
and 5, represent sections shewing the various modifications referred to
above.
:
A is a foundation, shewn in the Drawing as bricks laid upon concrete,
but it might be of other suitable material provided it is firm and
unyielding B is the planking laid thereon; and C, the layer of soft
fabric or felt served with pitch, asphalt, or other bituminous material.
This fabric may extend up between the joints of the blocks D, as shewn
in Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 5, or only up the transverse joints, or. the longi-
tudinal joints, or neither, but in all cases I lay it under the blocks.
Fig. 2 shews the dowelling or tonguing of the blocks when desired by
means of square strips of wood E entering mitre cut grooves in the con-
tiguous blocks.
The foothold for horses may be provided either by grooving the faces
of some of the blocks, as shewn at F, or providing similar grooves
between the blocks by chamfering the edges of contiguous blocks, as
shewn at G, or otherwise by making some of the rows of blocks lower
than the others, as shewn at H, the grooves so formed being in all cases
made transverse to the line of road.
It may be readily understood that instead of paving the whole surface
of the road in the manner above described, certain definite lines to suit
the courses of the wheel traffic may only be so paved, the spaces
between these lines of paving being filled in with grouting, as above
described. In such a case the planking on which the blocks are laid
should extend lengthwise, the joints of the blocks being transverse.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I claim,—
First. The method of paving roads with wooden blocks laid upon a
waterproof yielding fabric supported on planking laid on a foundation
of bricks, substantially as herein described.
Second. The method, substantially as herein described, of paving roads
with wooden blocks laid upon a waterproof yielding fabric supported on
concrete or other suitable firm foundation.

page_text: Third. The method, substantially as herein described, of paving roads
with wooden blocks laid on a waterproof yielding fabric, and having a
thickness of such fabric introduced in either the longitudinal or the
transverse joints of the blocks or in both.
Fourth. The method of paving roads with wooden blocks on longi-
tudinal planking laid not over the whole surface but in lines to suit the
wheel traffic with intermediate grouting of stone and asphalt, sub-
stantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Henson Henson, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.