IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Blackmore, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS."
Sealed the 23rd June 1871, and dated the 25th January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Blackmore at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 25th January 1871.
I, JOSEPH BLACKMORE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS," to be as follows:
My Invention is particularly adapted to hot and cold water cisterns of
dwelling houses, but it may be applied for other purposes.
It has heretofore been customary to make such cisterns of lead, iron,
or slate. Now my Invention consists in making them of glazed earthen-

page_text: ware, which reduces the cost, and is more durable and cleanly than
those now in use.
In performing my Invention I prefer to make the body of of the
cistern cylindrical, and with the bottom to which the requisite pipes are
attached, but the cistern may however be square or of other form, and
put together in separate pieces. The entire cistern, or the parts forming
the cistern, arc moulded in the same manner as is now customary in
making earthenware drainage pipes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Blackmore in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
BLACKMORE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Builder, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph Blackmore, Her special
licence that I, the said Joseph Blackmore, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Blackmore, my exe-
cutors, 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 IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I; the said Joseph Blackmore, my executors or administrators, 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.
65

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Blackmore, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following, statement (that is to say) :—.
My Invention is particularly adapted to hot and cold water cisterns of
dwelling houses, but it may be applied for other purposes.
It has heretofore been customary to make such cisterns of lead, iron,
or slate. Now my Invention consists in making them of glazed earthen-
ware, which reduces the cost, and is more durable and cleanly than`
those now in use.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the Figures marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a cistern suitable for holding water
for domestic purposes constructed according to my Invention, and Fig. 2
is a plan of the same. I prefer to make the cisterns of a cylindrical
form, as shewn in the Drawing, and with a partially hemispherical end,
but I do not limit myself to the form. In making these improved
cisterns it is necessary to employ a mould of the required size and shape,
which mould is put together in two or more parts, as in making the
moulds employed in the manufacture of earthenware socket or other
water pipes. After the cistern has been moulded it is burnt, and the
surface is glazed or enamelled as in the manufacture of the said water
pipes. I prefer to make my improved cisterns with a bead at the top
to increase their strength, and in the bottom are three holes made by
cores in the mould, into which holes the pipes are secured for conveying
the water to and from the cistern.
Fig. 3 is a section and Fig. 4 a plan of a hot water cylinder suitable
for supplying a bath constructed according to my Invention. In this
case I prefer to make the cistern in two parts connected together by
bolts and india-rubber or other packing to make a fluid-tight joint. At
the top of the cistern is a hole for the off-pipe, and in the lower part are
three holes, the lowest one being for the cold water inlet pipe, and the
two lateral ones for the pipes connected to the boiler.
Cisterns constructed according to my Invention are clean, strong,
durable, and cheap.

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the particulars given, as the same may be varied or
modified; but what I do claim is, constructing or manufacturing cisterns
of glazed or enamelled earthenware.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Blackmore, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of July One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.
JOSEPH BLACKMORE. (L.S.)