A METHOD OF MAKING CAST IRON MALIABLE, SO THAT IT WOULD ANSWER EVERY PURPOSE OF WROUGHT IRON, NEVER BEFORE FOUND OUT OR PRACTISED, FOR MAKING CANNON, TIERS TO WHEELS, ARMS TO AXLE TREES, ANCHORS, CHAINS, ALL KINDS OF IRON MILL WORK, FORGE HAMMERS, BAR AND CHAIN SHOTT, AND IRON ROLLERS, WHICH WOULD BE OF GREAT PUBLIC UTILITY
Year: 1783

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
MATTHEWS, of Broseley, in the County of Salop, Ironmaster, sends greeting.
WHEREAS I, the said George Matthews, did, by my Petition, humbly
represent to His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, that
I had, with much labour, expense, and trouble, invented and discovered "A
METHOD OF MAKING CAST IRON MALIABLE, SO THAT IT WOULD ANSWER EVERY PURPOSE
OF WROUGHT IRON, NEVER BEFORE FOUND OUT OR PRACTISED, FOR MAKING CANNON,
TIERS TO WHEELS, ARMS TO AXLE TREES, ANCHORS, CHAINS, ALL KINDS OF IRON MILL
WORK, FORGE HAMMERS, BAR AND CHAIN SHOTT, AND IRON ROLLERS, WHICH WOULD
BE OF GREAT PUBLIC UTILITY:" I therefore humbly prayed His said Majesty to
grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His Royal Letters
Patent for the sole use, benefit, and advantage of the 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, for the term of fourteen
years, agreeable to the Statute in that behalf. His said Majesty, being willing
to give encouragement to all arts and inventions which might be for the public
good, was graciously pleased to condescend to my request, and, therefore, by
His Letters Patent, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of
March, in the twenty-third year of His reign, of His especial grace, certain know-
ledge and mere motion, for Himself, His heirs and successors, did give and
grant unto me, the said George Matthews, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, His special licence, full power, sole priviledge and authority, that I, the
said George Matthews, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and every
of us, by myself and themselves, or by mine and their deputy or deputies, servants

page_text: or agents, or such others as I, the said George Matthews, my 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 lawfully might make use, exercise, and vend my said In-
vention within that part of His Majesty's said Kingdom of Great Britain called
England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such
manner as to me, the said George Matthews, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or any of us, should in our discretion seem meet; and that I, the said
George Matthews, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should and lawfully
might have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage from
time to time coming, growing, accruing, and arising by reason of the said Inven-
tion, for and during the term of years thercin mentioned; to have, hold, exercise,
and enjoy the said licence, powers, priviledges, and advantages therein-before
granted or mentioned to be granted unto me, the said George Matthews, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, for and during and unto the full end
and term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters Patent next and
immediately ensuing, and fully to be compleat and ended, according to the
Statute in such case made and provided. In which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, that if I, the said George Matthews, should not particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing, under my hand and
seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chan-
cery within four calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Pattent, and all liberties and
advantages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and
become void, anything therein contained to the contrary thereof in anywise
notwithstanding, as in and by the said Letters Patent (relation being thereunto
had) may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Matthews, in compliance with
the said proviso, do hereby describe and ascertain the name of my said Inven-
tion, and declare that the different articles laid down in the plan thereof here-
unto annexed are made as follows (that is to say):-First, you make the patern
of the different articles you want to make (if tier you make the circle of the
wheel in eight parts), by which the moulds are made to cast the different
articles in, in a melted state, from the iron stoue or oven, which is the first
operation. The different articles are made malliable and tough by being put
into close ovens and covered with charcoal, to which you communicate fire and
exclude the air, and let it burn for twenty-four hours without interruption, and
allow them to remain in the oven until the charcoal is quite burnt out and the

page_text: ven is perfectly cool, after which they may taken out as malliable and tough
s hammered or wrought iron, and the tier may be put upon wheels either with
ammered nails or screws, thro' the holes which are cast in the tier.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Matthews, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eighteenth day of July, in the Twenty-third year of
the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the Grace
of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the
Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand seven
hundred and eighty-three.