A NEW METHOD, BY MEANS OF CERTAIN MACHINERY OF CLEANSING AND DEEPENING DAY HARBOURS, RIVERS, CREEKS, &C. PART OF WHICH MACHINERY MAY BE APPLIED TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1800

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEPHEN
HOOPER, of Margate, in the Isle of Thanet, and County of Kent;
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Fourth day of December, in the forty-first year of
His reign, did give and grant unto me, the said Stephen Hooper, His
especial licence, that I, the said- Stephen Hooper, during the term of
years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might use, exercise, and
vend, within that part of His Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called
England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
my Invention of "A NEW METHOD, BY
MEANS OF
CERTAIN MACHINERY
OF CLEANSING AND DEEPENING DAY HARBOURS, RIVERS, CREEKS, &C. PART OF
WHICH MACHINERY MAY BE APPLIED TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES:" in which
said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said
Stephen Hooper, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within one calendar month after the date of the
said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same (relation being there-
unto had) may more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Stephen Hooper, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described
in and by the above Drawings and description thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Hooper, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred.
STEPHEN HOOPER. (L.S.)
Figure 1, A, a barge or vessel lying at anchor across the tide; B, the
cable that the barge rides by, fastened to the midships or middle of the
barge; C, C, two bridles or springs fastened to the cable, the other ends
fastened one at the head, the other at the stern of the barge, to share
it backwards and forwards across the tide, by veering away one and
hawling in the other; D, a plowshare or other proper instrument fastened
to the end of the pole or staff E, to plow up the ground, the other end
of the staff E at the side of barge to guide the plow by, and by moving it
backwards or forwards throws the plow more in or out of the ground;
F, one or more bridles fastened, one end to the plow share, and the
other end to the head or stern, to keep it forwards to its work; G is a
sail, the lower part kept within about six inches of the ground by two
sprits H, H, the upper part fastened to the side of the barge; this sail
being held against the tide abreast of the plow, within about six inches of
it, quickens the tide to drive away the soil as it is plowed or raked up.
N.B. Several plowshares, or other proper instruments, may be worked
at the same time upon the above plan, where the tide is sufficiently
strong. The barge or vessel to have a well in the middle will make it
more convenient for the poles or sprits, &c. to go through to turn the
ground up by. Figure 2, a moveable backwater, by posts and rails
framed together, in partitions united together, forming an arch to stand
against the stream from side to side. A, A, two posts of a length
sufficient for the depth of the river; these posts to be six inches square,
more or less, according to the weight of water they are to stand against;
B, B, a number of rails, twelve inches asunder, ten feet long, six inches
broad by two inches thick, more or less, according to the weight of
water they are to stand against; the ends of these rails to be tenanted
to work free in a mortice in the post, to admit of one post up and the
other down, so as to admit of the frames uniting together upon uneven
ground, any part of these rails may be covered with thin board canvas,
or other proper materials, on that side where the tide or stream bears
against, fixed by a pin in the board at each end, to admit of the boards
working with the frame, and the opening below to have canvas or other
proper materials, of a sufficient length and breadth to cover it, fastened

page_text: on one side to the post, the other end fastened to a roller E, to roll it
backwards or forwards to stop or let the tide run through, which may
likewise be done by boards E, E, E, or other proper materials, to work
free between the rails B, B, with a gudgeon near the centre working
in the rails, top and bottom; the front edges of these boards, &c. to be
united together by small levers working on a pin from one to the other,
so that by moving one you move the whole, like venetian blinds to open
or shut. N.B. The canvas may be rolled from top to bottom of each
partition, and the boards to open and shut from top to bottom likewise.
The frames are fastened together by hooks or other fastenings C, C, on
one side of the frame, hooking into eyes D, D, on the other side of the
frame, when, by a sufficient number of the frames being fixed together
to form, as per Figure. 3, an arch against the tide from side to side of
the river, the canvas or other materials to be rolled over the part left
open on each partition, to stop up the water untill it has got a head,
sufficient to drive away the mud, then roll back the canvas or other
materials from the lower part of one or more of the partitions to drive
away the mud, or roll the whole back together to let the tide go down
with a head or bore. Figure 4, A, A, a number of posts; with chains
or ropes about a foot asunder from post to post across the river; these
posts to be kept or held up against the tide by ropes from the top and
bottom of the post or posts to an anchor or anchors or other fastenings
in the ground in front; then by canvas or other material, rolled on polls.
or staves of a sufficient length, so that the upper part of yo canvas be
above the water and the lower part shall touch the ground, roll the
canvas out from the shore to the middle from each shore of the river,
and when the water is ebbed away sufficient to give the water a suffi-
cient head, viz, one, two, three, or more feet, then roll the canvas back
to the shore on each side, to let the current go down with a head or bore
to drive away the soilage.
N.B. The above posts may be covered with board, &c. from post to
post, and held up against the tide as above, and when the water is ebbed
away sufficient, let go the upper ropes for the tide to go down the river
with a head or bore, as above. Figure 5, a water wheel. A, the main
shaft; B, the arms; C, C, two rims, fastened to the outer end of the arms;
D, the floats, with a gudgeon or spindle fixed in the centre at each end
to work in the two rims C, C; on the spindle at one end is fixed a spur
wheel E, to each of the floats, and between each of those wheels another
spur wheel F, which connects the whole together, so that by moving one
float the whole are moved or put in motion by means of two wheels fixed
on a cross shaft G with a gudgeon at each end, and fixed to work, one
end in rim C, the other in the main shaft A; at this end of the cross

page_text: shaft G is fixed a spur wheel H; this works into a double number of cogs
in rim I, which is bolted or fastened to the bridge L, and is stationary
on that side next the main shaft, which it is centrely from, so as to
admit of the main shaft working round the centre without touching,
so that by the main wheel going round wheel H is put in motion; at
the other end of the cross shaft G is another bevil wheel K, which works
into a bevil-wheel-M, that is fixed to one of the wheels that works in the
rim C, C, with a double number of cogs. The wheel, Figure 5 and 6,
may be worked in a vessel with two bottoms; the dotted lines, Figure 5,
represent half the front part, say one bottom and the arch or sluice;
the two bottoms to be kept at a sufficient distance, so as to permit the
main wheel to work freely between, to have a sluice gate to open or
shut in front against the tide; the dotted line in Figure 6 represents
one side of the vessel; this vessel may be fixed to one or the other of
the sluices of the backwater, Figure 2, so that in passing through the
sluice of the backwater it must first pass through the sluice of the vessel
which will work the water wheel. This vessel may be anchored in a
running stream, and by keeping the vessel down in the water by ballast,
or other means, so that the lower part of the main shaft just touching
the top of the water, the wheel will work at its greatest power for
the above work or to carry on any manufactory. N.B.-In some works
it may not be convenient for the shaft G to work without side, in which
case it may be worked within the arms as per Figure 7. A, the main
shaft; I, the rim with cogs; M, a shaft working in two carriages P and Q,
that are fastened or fixed to the main shaft; at one end of this shaft M
is a spur wheel N, which works in rim I; the spur wheel N has half the
number of cogs that there are in the rim; at the other end of the shaft M
is a bevil wheel O, which works in wheel H on shaft G, with an equal
number of cogs; at the other end of this shaft is a small bevel wheel K,
which works in a bevel wheel R, which has a double number of cogs;
wheel R is fastened at the inside of one of the wheels that are fixed in
the rim C, C; one end of this shaft G works in a carriage fastened
to the inside of rim C, the other end in a carriage fastened to the main
shaft A. Figure 8, A; A; are two drags, about ten feet long and twelve
inches deep, made a little curving, shod with iron to draw the mud or
soil to the sluice of the water-wheel; by these drags are made fast to a
rope B, B, by two bridles C, C, which keeps them square when drawing
the mud down; this rope is reeved through two blocks D, D, fastened
at the place where the mud is wanted to be drawn from, at a distance
from each other sufficient to keep the drags asunder where they pass each
other, as when one drag is drawing the mud down, the other being fast
to the other part of the rope, is drawn back one end foremost by a

page_text: single bridle E, which is fastened at one end of the drag; these drags
are put in motion by the ropes being fast to a roller F, one at one
side of the roller above, and the other on the other side of the roller
below. The ropes to be of a sufficient length to admit of one drag being
quite out when the other is drawn near the sluice, roller F is put in
motion by a face bevel wheel G working on the main shaft of the water
wheel into a spur bevel wheel H, which is fixed at the end of a cross
shaft I, which extends to the fore part of the vessel that the main wheel
works in; at this end of the shaft is fixed a spur bevel wheel K, which
works into a spur bevel wheel L or M, occasionally to reverse the motion
of the rollers F, by the wheel D being lifted up to work in L, or dropped
down to work into M, which is done by the gudgeon at that end of the
cross shaft working into a lever, to raise or fall it by; wheels L and M
are fixed upon an upright shaft N, at the lower end of which is fixed
roller F, with a rim to keep the drag ropes in their places; several
drags or other machinery may be worked by this wheel on the above
plan. Figure 9, a funnell to convey the water from a sluice to any
distance, to plough up and drive away mud. A, the sluice; B, the
mouth of the funnel, fastened to the sluice to receive the head of water;
C, the funnel to convey it at a distance. This funnel may be made to
extend to any distance by different lengths, laced or fastened together,
as D, D, and is made of canvas, leather, or any other fit material, and
of greater or lesser diameter, sufficient to convey the water from the
sluice; the water being thus confined will act at the outer end of the
funnel with its full force to plow up and drive away muḍ or loose soil,
and the outer end of the funnel may be moved from place to place
by means of a rope, chain, &c. This funnel may be extended at the
mouth or upper part B, and spread across a river and held up against
the tide with ropes for the above purpose, &c.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of
December, in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Stephen Hooper
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 Twenty-third day of December, in the year above