CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON SHOWER BATHS
Year: 1822

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FEETHAM, of Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, Stove Maker and Furnishing
Ironmonger, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth, did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, called England, bearing date at Westminster, the
Thirteenth day of June, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, in the
third year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said William Feetham,
my exors, admors, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole priv-
ilege and authority, that I, the said William Feetham, my exors, admors
and assigns, and assigns, during the term of years therein mentioned,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS ON SHOWER BATHS;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso, that if I, the said William Feetham, shall 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
Chancery, within six calendar months next and immediately after the date..
of the said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patènt, and all liberties
and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine,
and become void, as in and by the same (relation being thereunto had);
will more fully and at large appear,

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
William Feetham, do hereby declare that, the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto annexed, and the
following description thereof (that is to say) :-
:-
One principal object of my said Invention is to enable any person to attemper,
adjust, regulate, or soften the shower of water at pleasure, and I accomplish
this object in the following manner :-
In the annexed Drawing, A, in Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5, represents the cistern
or part of it. In the middle of the bottom of the cistern I affix a cock B to
the conical plug, of which a handle C is jointed, the other end of which turns
in a hole D, made either in a metal plate E, affixed to the bottom of the
cistern A, or otherwise as will be hereafter described; on this end of the
handle C another plate of metal F, see Figs. 3 & 4, is securely affixed; this
is formed in the shape represented, namely having two levers or handles G & H
with holes in them, to which the lines or ropes I and J are affixed, and at its
back a loop or eye K, through which the line I is passed; a stud L is also
securely affixed into its back, which passes through a groove M, made in the
plate E, concentric with the handle C. Into the back of the plate E two
other studs N and O are securely affixed, and also an eye loop or staple P
to which is hung the stop Q, which has an eye or loop made at one end of it
through which the loop or staple P, was passed before securing it to the
plate E. Fig. 3 shews these several parts drawn on a larger than the other
Figures. It will be seen that the cock B may either be entirely opened,
or the hole in its plug brought into a straight line with its bore, or be partially
opened only, and either, as shewn in Figures 2 and 3, by the stop Q, being
lodged upon one of the studs N or O, and thereby preventing the stud L from
moving farther, or simply by removing the stop Q, and turning the plug of the
cock into any other position at pleasure.
Having thus described the manner of regulating the flow of water through
the cock B, I shall next proceed to describe the other part of my Invention,
which consists in the method of causing the shower of water to be extended or
contracted at pleasure; R, Figs. 6 and 7, is a metal plate perforated with
holes made in concentric rings all over it; in the centre of this plate a hollow
metal cone S is affixed, which is also perforated throughout with holes; this
cone receives the water as it flows through the cock B, and takes away its
force when a gentle shower is required, and that quantity of water, which
cannot escape through the holes in the cone, rises and passes over its top.
Two or more concentric rings of metal T and U are likewise affixed upon the

page_text: plate R; their use is to confine the shower either near to the centre of the bath
when the flow is small, or to suffer it to extend itself around when the flow is
increased, but still within concentric limits, or lastly to permit it to diffuse
itself all over the perforated plate when the cock is opened to its full extent.
One method of supporting the plate R in its place is shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and
8; V is a metal cap or cover having a cylindrical rim or border W, around
its lower edge; into this rim the plate R is received, and is retained therein by
means of the metal ring X, Fig. 8, which fits into the rim W, and is prevented
from falling out of it by means of two or more studs Y, Y, which enter into
two or more vertical gaps, one of which is shewn at Z, in Fig 1, and lodge or
rest upon horizontal gaps in which the vertical ones terminate in a similar
manner to other fastenings already in use, and therefore not claimed herein as
being of my Invention. In order to support the cock B, the plate R, and its
cover V, more firmly, I employ the stays a, a, &c., which are firmly secured to
the cover and to the bottom of the cistern A, by means of rivets or otherwise.
But in order to render these parts of my Invention still more portable, I
connect the cock B to the cistern A by male and female screws as shewn in
Fig. 5, at b and c, and also the cover V, and its perforated plate by other male
and female screws d and e to the cock B; and thus these parts can be readily
packed or inclosed in the cistern A; in this instance however it is evident that
the plate E, and the other parts connected with it cannot be affixed to the
bottom of the cistern A, and therefore it is firmly united to the body of the
cock B, instead by means of the stays f and g, shewn in Fig. 9. In this latter
figure is also shewn another method of uniting the perforated plate R to the
cover V, namely, by making a cylindrical rim or ring to it, and hinging it to it
on one side and supporting it by a hasp or catch at the other. It might also
be made without the hinge and clasp, by having the cylindrical ring made to
shut into or fit upon the ring at the bottom of the cover V, and be held or
retained there by pins or otherwise. In Fig. 4, the parts described are repre-
sented as affixed upon the upper part of the stand of a shower bath, and in
Fig 10 is given a prospective view of the bath and stand, and also of the barrel
(fitted up with a ratchet wheel and click, and a handle as usual), around which
the two lines or ropes are wound, and which said lines or ropes pass over pulleys
affixed in the top of the frame above the stand and under two other pulleys
affixed to the top of the cistern A, and their ends are fastened to the top of the
frame in the usual manner of raising or lowering the cisterns of shower baths.
I do not intend hereby to claim these parts as being of my Invention, but only
shew them in order that it may be seen how those parts which are of my Inven-
tion are connected with them. It may be necessary to add that the two lines

page_text: or ropes I and J, having rings or handles at their ends, are placed within the
stand so as for them to be readily pulled, in order to open or shut the cock at
pleasure by the person using the bath. I have also added two jointed stops h
and i, see Fig. 4, with eyes or loops to them, and lines or ropes affixed to the
loops; these said stops will either turn up so as to be out of the way when the
cistern is to be. raised or lowered, or they may be pulled down by means of the
lines into the horizontal position (shewn by dotted lines), and serve to support
the cistern independantly of the ropes aud pulleys. I have also affixed a
sloping or inclined spout or gutter to the door near to its bottom as shewn in
Figs. 11 and 12, and which directs the water lodged upon the door from the
spray of the shower on the door being thrown open suddenly, as usual, into the
receiver at the bottom of the stand, instead of falling upon and wetting the floor
of the bathing room. I have likewise added a conical plug and chain K,
Figs. 10, 11, and 12, and which said plug, on being withdrawn from its conical
hole in the receiver, allows the water collected there to flow into any proper
vessel placed underneath the receiver. In addition to the parts already
mentioned as not being claimed by me herein, I wish it to be understood that
I do not claim or intend hereby to claim as my Invention any of the other
parts which may be already in use; but I do hereby claim the means of
regulating the flow of the water from the cock of the shower bath, and also
the method of extending or contracting within central limits the shower of
water at pleasure.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Feetham, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.