CERTAIN SANITARY IMPROVEMENTS IN COFFINS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hargreaves, of Farnworth, near Bolton, in the
County of Lancaster, Joiner, for the Invention of "CERTAIN SANITARY
IMPROVEMENTS IN COFFINS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hargreaves at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
September 1866.
I, JOHN HARGREAVES, of Farnworth, near Bolton, in the County of Lan-
caster, Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
SANITARY IMPROVEMENTS IN COFFINS," to be as follows:-
My Invention is designed to prevent noxious gases escaping from coffins
containing dead bodies into the rooms in which they may be temporarily
placed, and to prevent the coffins from being burst or ruptured by any
aqueous or gaseous emissions which may be evolved by and discharged from
the body.
The improvements consist, first, in the application of a-valve in the lid of
the coffin, the outside aperture of which terminates in a tube which may be
passed up the chimney or into the outer atmosphere; with this valve a sharp
needle or piercer is connected which projects downwards, when the lid is
secured on the coffin, towards the body, so that should the body swell or
become enlarged it will come into contact with the point of the needle and

page_text: become punctured, by which means the gas may escape, and so any unpleasant
occurrences may be avoided.
A second part of the improvements consists in the application of a strip or
band of india-rubber to form a packing for the joint between the coffin and
its lid, so that when the latter is screwed or fastened down an air-tight joint
will be effected by the compression of the india-rubber.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Hargreaves in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th March 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HARGREAVES, of Farnworth, near Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Joiner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Hargreaves, Her special licence that I, the said John Har-
greaves, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Hargreaves, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "CERTAIN
SANITARY IMPROVEMENTS IN COFFINS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said John Hargreaves, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 John Hargreaves, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
My said Invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of
coffins, whereby they are rendered perfectly waterproof and air-tight, whilst at

page_text: the same time means are provided for the escape of the gases which may be
generated by the decomposition of the corpses contained therein. The wood
of which the sides of the coffins are made is softened by being soaked in
water or exposed to the influence of moisture, and is then pressed to the
desired shape or curvature by means of any suitable moulds and apparatus.
The wood having been thus moulded is afterwards put into a hot oven until it
has become perfectly dry, when it will retain the form which has been'
imparted to it for any length of time. The sides, ends, and bottoms of the
coffins having been put together, the interior surfaces thereof are completely.
covered with a waterproof composition, which may be laid on with a brush,
and then smoothed and equalized by means of a hot iron passed over its
surface. The composition which I prefer is formed of pitch or shellac
dissolved in wood naphtha, methylated spirit, or any other fluid hydrocarbon
adapted for the purpose, but I do not claim the use of any composition in
particular, as any substance or composition which will sink into the pores of
the wood, and render the same impervious to moisture and air, may be
employed for the purposes of my Invention. The inner surfaces of the
lids, with the exception of those parts thereof which are occupied by the
face plates and valves, as herein-after mentioned, are also coated in like
manner, and are connected with the sides by means of tongues and grooves,
in which case the grooves should be charged with the waterproof com-
position in a liquid state immediately before the lids are placed in their
permanent position, or the lids may be connected with the sides by means
of rabbetted edges, or in any other analogous manner, it being essential
that in all cases the waterproof composition before mentioned, or an elastic
water and air proof substance or material, shall be so applied that upon the
lids being placed in their permanent position the whole of the interiors of the
coffins shall be impervious to moisture and air. At a convenient part of the
lid of each coffin, constructed in accordance with my said Invention, an
aperture is formed, which aperture is closed by means of a spring valve
opening upwards, and so constructed that an elastic tube can be screwed
thereto when the coffin with the corpse contained therein is awaiting inter-
ment. Beneath the valve, and in the interior of the coffin, is arranged a
filtering apparatus, the same being constructed of any suitable pervious
material, and in which is placed powdered lime, or any other suitable or
analogous disinfecting or deodorizing material or materials, and through
which all gases generated in the interior of the coffin must pass before being
emitted through the before-mentioned tube. The tube can be conveyed into
the chimney or through an open window, so that upon the spring valve being

page_text: raised by the expansive force of the gases resulting from the process of
decomposition, such gases will be carried out of the apartment, which will
thus be kept entirely free from all unpleasant odours, whilst at the same time
the coffin is preserved from danger of: bursting. In like manner the tube can
be used with great advantage when the coffin is conveyed into or deposited in
a church, chapel, or burial vault. The lid is also furnished with an aperture
which is fitted or covered, so as to be perfectly air-tight, with glass or other
transparent material, for the purpose of enabling the face of the deceased
person to be seen without removing the coffin lid.
Although I have herein-before described the application of the said valve
and tube to coffins formed of wood only, yet they are equally applicable, as
are also the said face plates, to coffins constructed of lead or other material.
As the lids of wooden coffins are liable to give way when subjected to great
external pressure, I support the lids of such coffins constructed in accordance
with my said Invention, whether such lids be single or double, by means of
one or more brass or other metal rods passing under or through the lids, and
suitably secured to the sides.
Having thus fully declared and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which it is to be performed, I would observe in
conclusion that I do not claim the several processes and particulars of manu-
facture herein-before mentioned separately and apart from each other; but
what I consider novel and original and therefore claim as constituting the
Invention secured to me by the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the construction and preparation of coffins, and the combination
and arrangement of parts and mechanism connected therewith, as substantially
herein-before set forth and described, or any mere modifications thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hargreaves, bave hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JOHN HARGREAVES. (L.8.)