IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO FIRE-PLACES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Barton, of Boston, in the County of
Lincoln, Ironmonger, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE
TO FIRE-PLACES."
Sealed the 10th June 1873, and dated the 7th April 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Barton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th April 1873.
I, WILLIAM BARTON, of Boston, in the County of Lincoln, Ironmonger,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
APPLICABLE TO FIRE-PLACES," to be as follows :-
The chief object of this Invention is to improve what is known as the
Milner stove, and to effect thereby an economy in the consumption of
the fuel used therein, as well as to provide for the facile refitting of the
parts liable to be burnt out or otherwise injured during the use of the
stove.

page_text: The back and sides of the Milner stove are formed of vertical walls of
fire-brick, and a metal grate is usually fitted therein, it being supported
in position by bearings let into the side walls. When the grate requires
repairing its removal and replacement necessitates the employment of an
experienced mechanic. To avoid this I construct an iron stand, which
rests upon the hearth. This stand is covered by a plate pierced with
elongated air holes, and forms the grate bottom. Below this grate plate
I fit a second plate of smaller dimensions. This lower plate is supported
in guides, and is intended to close or partially close (as may be desired)
the air holes of the grate. Upon the grate plate I place a fire-brick slab,
shaped to correspond thereto, and similarly pierced with air holes. Upon
this slab rests the fuel, and it serves therefore not only as a heat retainer
but also to protect the grate plate from injury. In order to adapt the
area of the fire-place to the varied requirements of a stove I propose to
make it of the maximum capacity requisite for the apartment in which
it is to be placed, and to fit it with removeable blocks or slabs so shaped
as to fit together and to contract the fire-place area sufficiently to reduce
the heating capacity of the stove to the requirements of moderate
weather.
The back slab I propose to form with a broad base, and to give it an
inclination upwards and outwards so as to deflect the flame and heated
gases in their course to the chimney. This slab will soon become
highly heated, and while serving as a heat retainer it will also quicken
the draft to the chimney. The side slabs will be close to the side walls,
and abut against the back slab, and all these slabs will rest upon the slab
which supports the fire. The base of the back slab, if it overlaps the
openings in the bottom slab, will require to be recessed to give the air
free passage through the grate.
On the top of the stove I fit a novel arrangement of soot door and
draught regulator, which consists of an open frame carrying two vertical
end pieces, between which are hinged a pair of doors which are capable
of covering the rectangular opening of the frame. One of these end
pieces carries an inverted ✓ shaped stop piece, against which the doors
may fall when it is required to close the chimney. To the inner faces of
the doors I fit segment-shaped racks, into which takes a double ended
pawle hinged to the framing, and intended to serve as a prop for keeping
open the doors at any desired angle. By dropping this prop out of
contact with the doors they will fall together and close the opening to

page_text: the chimney, but by raising the prop any required width of opening to
the chimney may be readily obtained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said William Barton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 7th October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BARTON, of Boston, in the County of Lincoln, Ironmonger, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Barton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Barton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Barton, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
APPLICABLE TO FIRE-PLACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Barton, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Barton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing

page_text: (that is to say) :—
The chief object of this Invention is to improve what is known as the
Milner stove, and to effect thereby an economy in the consumption of
the fuel used therein, as well as to provide for the facile refitting of
the parts liable to be burnt out or otherwise injured during the use of
the stove.
The back and sides of the Milner stove are formed of vertical walls of
fire-brick, and a metal grate is usually fitted therein, it being supported
in position by bearings let into the side walls. When the grate requires
repairing its removal and replacement necessitates the employment of
an experienced mechanic. This however I am enabled to avoid when
fitting a stove according to my Invention.
In the accompanying Drawing my improvements are shewn in severa
views.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 a sectional plan, and Fig. 3 a sec-
tional elevation (taken in the line 1 and 2 of Fig. 1) of a Miluer stove
fitted with my improvements. This stove is represented by the parts
marked A, A, A, constituting an inclined back and two vertical side
walls, which structure when in place rests on the hearth, and extends up
to the opening in the chimney. The stove is closed in by an ordinary
stove front of cast iron, and of any approved construction, es shewn
at B, B, and the fire-bars B are secured to this metal front. C is an
iron stand placed within the stove, and resting upon the hearth. This
stand carries an iron plate c, pierced with elongated air holes, and forming
the grate bottom. Below this grate plate I fit a second plate c¹ of
smaller dimensions, which is supported by and capable of sliding in
guides, and is intended to close or partially close, as may bedesired, the
air holes of the grate. Upon the grate plate I place a fire-brick slab,
D shaped, to correspond with the plate c, and similarly pierced with air
holes. Upon this slab rests the fuel, and it serves therefore not only as
a heat retainer, but also to protect the grate plate from injury. In order
to adapt the area of the fire-place to the varied requirements of a stove I
prefer usually to make the Milner stove of the maximum capacity
requisite for heating the apartment in which it is to be placed, and I
furnish it with removeable back and side blocks or slabs so shaped and
proportioned that they will fit together and contract the fire-place area

page_text: sufficiently to reduce the heating capacity of the stove to the require-
ments of moderate weather. E is the back slab, which has an inclination
upwards and outwards, so as to deflect the flame and heated gases in
their course to the chimney. This slab will soon become highly heated,
and while serving as a heat retainer it will also quicken the draught to
the chimney. F, F, are the side slabs, which lie close to the side walls,
and abut against the back slab, so as to keep the same in position.
These three slabs rest upon the bottom slab D which supports the fire.
Figs. 4, 5, and 6 show a slight modification of the mode of fitting up
the Milner stove for the purpose of contracting the capacity of the grate.
In this example the back slab E is made with feet or projections E' at
the base for sustaining it in position, no side slabs in this case being
employed. In other respects the arrangement is similar to that above
described.
Referring again to Figs. 1 and 3, it will be seen that on the top of the
stove I fit a novel arrangement of soot door and draught regulator. This
is shewn detached and in plan view at Fig. 7. It consists of an open
rectangular frame G, carrying two vertical end pieces, between which
are hinged a pair of doors H, H. These doors are made capable of
covering the rectangular opening of the frame. One of the end pieces
carries an inverted V shaped stop piece, against which the doors may fall
when it is required to close the chimney. To the inner faces of the doors
I fit segment shaped racks, into which takes a double ended pawle I,
hinged to the framing, and intended to serve as a prop for keeping open
the doors at any desired angle. By dropping this prop out of contact
with the doors they will fall together, and close the opening to the
chimney, but by raising the prop I any required width of opening to the
chimney may be readily obtained. This arrangement of soot door and
draught regulator is applicable to open fire-places generally.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements
applicable to Fire-places," and explained the mauner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,―
First. The application to the Milner stove of the removeable fittings
above described for forming a grate that is capable of contraction and

page_text: Secondly. The arrangement of soot door and draft regulator above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Barton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Signed by the said William
Barton in the presence of
JNO. Jos. JEBB,
Solr.,
Boston.
WILLIAM BARTON. (La.)