A NEW OR IMPROVED HEARSE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Spilsbury Butler, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED
HEARSE,"
Sealed the 26th February 1858, and dated the 7th September 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Spilsbury Butler at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th
September 1857.
I, SPILSBURY BUTLER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR
IMPROVED HEARSE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of a bearse or vehicle for the conveyance of corpses to
cemeteries or burial places, constructed in the manner herein-after described;
the said hearse being transported or propelled by hand-power instead of by
horse-power. The said hearse consists of a chest or receptacle in which the
coffin or coffins containing the corpses are deposited; the said receptacle is
made of metal, wood, or other suitable material, and mounted upon axles,
either with or without the intervention of springs. The said axles are
furnished with wheels, upon which the hearse is supported and drawn. On
the sides of the hearse are handles, tassels, or other appendages, which may be
taken hold of by those attending the hearse, and the said hearse thereby pro-
pelled; vertical and moveable pillars or rods are situated at the corners of the

page_text: hearse, and horizontal rods are extended between the said vertical rods.
Curtains or drapery made of any desired fabric or material are suspended from
the said rods, or a pall may be placed across the said rods. When one corpse
is to be conveyed by the hearse, the coffin containing the corpse may either
be placed in the interior of the hearse or placed upon its top, the coffin in the
latter case being covered with a pall or surrounded by the curtains. When a
single corpse is conveyed in the interior of the hearse, the pall and curtains
and the curtain rods are unnecessary. When two corpses are conveyed, one
is placed in the interior of the hearse and one on the top thereof, the latter
being covered with the pall or surrounded by the curtains.
Hearses constructed according to my Invention are readily propelled by the
gentle pressure of four or more attendants or bearers, or when mounted upon
three wheels, it may be drawn by one person, thereby rendering horse-power
unnecessary, and at the same time superseding the ordinary method of
transport by bearers.
My improved hearse may be made of small size, for conveying corpses of
children.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Spilsbury Butler in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd March 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SPILSBURY
BUTLER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, IIer heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Spilsbury Butler, Her special licence, that I, the said Spilsbury Butler,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Spilsbury Butler, 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 NEW OR IMPROVED
HEARSE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Spilsbury
Butler, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,

page_text: or their, or one of their bands 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 Spilsbury Butler, 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, that is to say:--
My Invention consists of a new or improved hearse constructed or built in
the manner herein-after particularly described, and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawing.
My said new or improved hearse is propelled by manual labour, by means
either of hand rails or moveable guides or arms marked a in the Drawing, or
tassels or cords attached on each side. The moveable guides or arms a are
so constructed as to allow of their being taken off at pleasure from the plates b
screwed on the hearse, and in lieu of the said guides or arms, loops or eyes
can be attached to the plates b, to which said loops or eyes, cords, tassels,
rings, or other articles can be attached for the purpose of propelling the
hearse. One or more persons may be employed to move the hearse in either
direction, by which means of propulsion the ordinary method of carrying
coffins by the hand or on the shoulders is superseded.
The body of the hearse is attached to a carriage, as represented in the
Drawing; the said carriage may either be with or without springs, and I
prefer partly to conceal the wheels under the body of the carriage by means of
an ornamental frieze-work marked c, by which arrangement, persons walking
at the sides of the hearse are protected from injury by the wheels, and from
the dirt thrown up by the wheels. The carriage may be supported on one,
three, or more wheels. The front or guide wheel d, when not less than three
wheels are used, is mounted in the way in which the bowl or roller of a castor
for furniture is mounted; by which method of mounting, the said guide wheel
d can be turned in any direction. The said guide wheel d is concealed or
partly concealed under the carriage. At each end of the hearse I fix two
loops, rings, or swivels, so that a horse can be attached to the hearse when
necessary.
For the purpose of facilitating the introduction of the coffin into the hearse
and its removal therefrom, as well as to avoid the necessity for turning the
hearse round, I make a door at each end of the hearse. And in order to
facilitate the motion of the coffin into the hearse, I fasten at the bottom of the

page_text: said hearse three or more rollers or wheels for the coffin to move upon. I
prefer to make the sides of the hearse of plate glass panels, so as to permit of
the coffin being seen when inside the said hearse. The said glass panels are
capable of removal, and may be replaced with trellis work, velvet, black cloth,
or other material. Vertical and moveable pillars or rods may be placed at the
corners of the hearse, and horizontal rods extended between the said vertical
rods, and curtains or drapery may be suspended from the said horizontal rods,
or a pall may be placed across them. When one corpse is to be conveyed by
the hearse, the coffin may be placed either in the interior or on the top of the
hearse. When two corpses are conveyed, one may be placed in the interior of
the hearse and the other on the top, the latter being covered with a pall or
surrounded by the curtains. The rods and curtains may be removed when
only one corpse is being carried, and that in the interior of the hearse.
Hearses constructed according to my Invention are readily propelled by the
gentle pressure of four or more attendants or bearers, or when mounted upon
three wheels, it may be drawn by one person, thereby rendering horse-power
unnecessary, and at the same time superseding the ordinary method of
transport by bearers.
My improved hearse may be made of various designs, and of small size for
conveying corpses of children.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may
be varied without departing from the nature of my said Invention; but I
claim as my Invention, the new or improved hearse herein-before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, a hearse con-
sisting of a receptacle for conveying a corpse or corpses, constructed and
mounted as described and illustrated, and propelled by hand, as before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Spilsbury Butler, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
SPILSBURY BUTLER. (L.S.)
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.