A METHOD OR CONTRIVANCE TO SAVE A LARGE PORTION OF THE WATER AT LOCKS UPON NAVIGABLE CANALS, A CONTRIVANCE NEVER BEFORE PUT IN PRACTICE, AND WHICH WOULD BE OF GREAT PUBLIC BENEFIT AND UTILITY
Year: 1794

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, JOHN PRICE,
of Oaken Gates, in the Parish of Wombridge, in the County of Salop, Miner,
sendeth greeting.
WHEREAS His Sovereign Majesty King George the Third, by His Royal
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster the Eleventh day of November, in the thirty-fifth year of His reign,
reciting amongst others things that the said John Price, had by his Petition
represented to His said Majesty, that by great study and application he,
the said John Price had invented and found out "A METHOD OR CONTRIVANCE
TO SAVE A LARGE PORTION OF THE WATER AT LOCKS UPON NAVIGABLE CANALS,
A CONTRIVANCE NEVER BEFORE PUT IN PRACTICE, AND WHICH WOULD BE OF GREAT
PUBLIC BENEFIT AND UTILITY," His said Majesty did give and grant unto the
said John Price, his executors, administrators, and assigns, His said Majesty's
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority that he, the said John
Price, his executors, administrators, and assigns, and every of them by himself
and themselves, or by his and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or
such others as he, the said John Price, his executors, administrators, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, his said.Invention within that part
of His said Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called England, His
dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such manner as to

page_text: him, the said John Price, his excentors, administrators, and assigns, or any of
them, should in his or their discretion seem meet, and that he, the said John
Price, bis executors, administrators, and assigns, should and lawfully might
have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage, from time
to time coming, growing, acruing, and arising by reason of the said Invention,
for and during the term of years therein mentioned, to have hold, exercise,
and enjoy the said licence, powers, privileges, and advantages therein granted
or mentioned to be granted unto the said John Prico, his executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, for and during, and unto the full end and term of fourteen
years from the date of the said Letters Patents, next and immediately
ensuing, and fully to be compleat and ended according to the Statute in such
caso made and provided, in which said Letters is amongst other things con-
tained a proviso, that if the said John Rice should not particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of his said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under his band and seal, and
cause the samo to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery,
within one calendar month next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent and all liberties and advan-
tagos whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become
void, any thing therein before contained to the contrary thereof, in any wise
notwithstanding as in and by the said Letters Patent, relation being thereunto
had, may and doth more fully and at large appear.
NOW THESE PRESENTS WITNESS, that in pursuance of the said
Letters Patent, and in conformity to the proviso therein contained, tho said
John Price hath described and ascertained, and by these presents doth fully and
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of his said new invented method
or contrivance to save a large portion of the water at locks upon navigable
canals, and also the manner of working the same upon the principle of
reservoirs, or side ponds, agreeable to the Drawing hereon contained (that is
to say):
-
The lock being made of any given size and dimensions, whereof the super
ficial measure is known to fall six feot and six inches, in order to savo five feet
of water, let five reservoirs, or side ponds, each pond being double the super-
ficial measure of the surface of the water in the lock. For instance, on the
Drawing hereon contained, A is supposed to roprosent a lock, which has a
fall of six feet and six inches from B, the over sumit of the canal, to C, the
lower summit of the canal. Tho lock being filled with water, and the
upper
and lower lock gates being shut, and the valves communicating with the
upper and lower summits of the canal being also closed, let the valve bolonging

page_text: to the upper or first side pond be drawn up, and one foot of water in the
lock will discharge itself into the upper or first side pond, and the water
therein will riso in such upper side pond six inches. The water in the first
pond now being level with the water in the lock, shut down the valve to keep
the water in the upper side pond; then draw up the valve to the second side
pond, till the water in the second side pond is level with the water in the lock;
and when another foot of water is drawn from the lock into the second side pond,
then shut the valve, and draw up the valve to the third sido pond, and when
you have drawn off a third foot of water, shut the valve to the third pond, and
draw up the valvo to the fourth side pond; and after a fourth foot of water is
drawn from the lock, shut the valve belonging to the fourth pond, and draw
up the valve to the fifth side pond, and a fifth foot of water will in like manner.
be drawn from the lock; this done, that valve is also to be shut, and there will
be then one foot and six inches water in the lock to be drawn into the lower
summit of the canal, which must be done in the usual manner by means of tho
valve communicating therewith from the lock therewith, which done, the lower
gate may be opened, and the passage is made from the lock to the lower summit
of the canal; by this means five feet of water is confined in the side ponds; and
when the lock is wanted to be filled with water, let the lower gate, and also
the valve communicating with the lower level of the canal be shut, then draw
up the valve belonging to the fifth or lower side pond, and the foot of water
contained in such side pond will discharge itself into the lock, which done, the
valve must be shut; then proceed to draw the valve to the fourth side pond,
and the foot of water contained in such fourth side pond will also discharge
itself into the lock; the valve is then to be shut, and then draw up the valve to
the third side pond, and the foot of water contained in the third side pond will
be discharged into the lock; then shut down the valve and draw up the valve
to the second side pond, and the foot of water contained therein will discharge
itself into the lock; then shut down the valve and draw up the valve to
the upper or first side pond, and when the foot of water is discharged
the valve must be shut. The lock will then have received from the five
side ponds the five feet of water deposited therein, and will only want
eighteen inches of being full, which must be drawn from the upper
summit of the canal in the usual way, and by this means only eighteen
inches of water will be lost in passing a lock of six feet and six inches
fall; and it is to be observed that the bottom of the upper pond should be
eighteen inches, at the least, lower than the surface of the water in the lock
when full, and the bottom of the second pond should be one foot lower than
the bottom of the first pond; the bottom of the third pond one foot lower than

page_text: the bottom of the second pond; the bottom of the fourth pond one foot lower
than the bottom of the third pond; and the bottom of the lower side pond ono
foot lower than the bottom of the fourth pond. Upon this principle, a much
larger quantity of the water may be saved by encreasing the number and
dimensions of the side ponds, by making the reservoirs or side ponds super-
ficially of equal dimensions with the lock, and the bottom of the upper pond
two feet lower than the surface of the water in the lock; when full, you may
draw off by the same nieans one foot of water from the lock, and by making a
number of other side ponds, observing that they regularly fall one foot each at
bottom. All the water within two feet may be saved, whether the lock be six,
eight, ten, or twelve feet fall, observing to have a side pond for each foot to be
saved. In case the lock should have thirteen feet fall, and it is required to
save ten feet water, then five side ponds, each to take off two feet of water
will save ten feet. The side ponds to be superficially twice the size of the
lock, and the bottom of the upper pond to be threo feet lower than the surface
of the water in the lock when full, and the other four side ponds to lower pro-
gressively two feet, by which means ten feet will be saved in a lock of thirteen
feet fall, and this principle will apply to locks of any size or dimensions.
A single side pond three times the size of the lock will save three feet out of
seven feet, by making the bottom of the side pond four feet lower than the
surface of the water in the lock when full, two side ponds of the same super-
ficial dimensions with the lock will save one-half of the water in the lock, in
which case the bottom of the upper side pond must be half way down the fall
of the lock, and the bottom of the lower side ponds three-fourths of the depth
of the fall in the lock; if the fall be eight feet, the bottom of the upper pond
must be four feet below the surface of the water in the lock, when full, and
the bottom of the lower side pond two feet deeper than the bottom of the
upper one. In computing the superficial measure of the lock for the purpose
of ascertaining the size of the side ponds, the superficial measure of the well
from which the water is conveyed to the side ponds, must be added to that of
the lock and the sido ponds in proportion thereto. The reservoirs may be
made at a small expence by cuting the same in the grounds adjoining the
lock, and niny be mado on either or both sides, as best suits the situation of
the land, and the same may be divided by banks made of the spare earth
thrown out of the side ponds, and should be as near as possible to the lock;
but care should be taken that they are not too near the side wall of the lock,
for in that case, such side wall would be rendered weaker, and might be in
danger of being thrown down. The mode of conveying the water to and from
the said ponds is to be effected by means of a culvert through the bottom of

page_text: the side wall in or near the middle of the lock, as represented in the Drawings
hereon with the letter F; such culvert to be carried in a straight line to a con-
venient distance for communication to the different side ponds, then a well, as
also represented in the Drawing by the letter F, to be continued perpen-
dicularly from such culvert to a proper height to communicate with the side
ponds, and in the side walls of such well are to be fixed proper valves with
communications to the respective side ponds. The culvert and well to be
built of good building materials well put together, and the valves with their
frames to be fixed in the walls of the well. The valves to be of sufficient size
for dispatch of business, and to be worked by a windlass in the common way.
The side ponds may be put to locks already made at a small expence, and
without much hindrance to the navigation, and be usefull when water is scarce,
as the same may be worked with very little loss of time. And when there is
plenty of water, the locks may be worked in the common way, and all the
water let off into the lower summitt which is a full and true description of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed.
In witness whereof, the said John Price, hath hereunto set his hand
and seal, this Sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand seven hundred and ninety-four.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Sixth day of December,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid John Price came before our Lord
the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained in form above written. And also
the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the Eighth day of December, in the year above written.