To SEPERATE PIG OR SOW IRON FROM IRON STONE OR IRON MINE, IN AN AIR FURNACE, BY MEANES OF SEA OR PIT COAL
Year: 1727

page_text: GEORGE, by the grace of God, &c., to all to whom these Presents shall
come greeting.
WHEREAS our trusty and welboloved FRANCIS WOOD, of Hampstead, in
our County of Middlesex, Merchant, hath by his peticon humbly represented
vnto vs that he has at great expence and diligent labour for divers yeares
last past found out, invented, and discovered "How To SEPERATE PIG OR SOW
IRON FROM IRON STONE OR IRON MINE, IN AN AIR FURNACE, BY MEANES OF SEA OR
PIT COAL," a secret not hitherto known or practised in any of our dominions,
by the vse whereof only he can render the same equally good and fit for the
several purposes of pig or sow iron made with charcoal; that the vse of sea
or pit coal only on this occasion will entirely remedy the great scarcity of
wood, so generally complained of, by preventing the great quantities which
are daily consumed in separating pig or sow iron by the methode now in vse,
that it will be of considerable advantage to the publick, inasmuch as a greater
number of poor families will gain a competent maintenance in making of
coal for the aforesaid purpose than do now by the methode in practice, and
having prayed vs to grant him our Royal Letters Patent for the term of
fourteen yeares, according to the Statute in such case made and provided,
for securing his property in the said Invenčon, as well for his greater
encouragement as for the enabling him the better to carry on and promote
the great vsefulnesse thereof, in such ample and beneficial manner as to vs
shall seem meet, wee being willing to give encouragement to all arts and

page_text: invenčons which may be of publick service and benefit are gratiously pleased
to gratify him in his request.
KNOW YEE, THEREFORE, that wee, of our especial grace, certain
knowledge, and meer močon, have given and granted, and by these Presents,
for vs, our heires and successors, do give and graut vnto the said Francis
Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, our especial lycence, sole
priviledgo and authority that he, the said Francis Wood, his executors,
administrators, and assignes, and every of them, by himselfe or themselves,
or by his or their deputy and deputies, servants or agents, or such others
as he, the said Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, or assignes,
shall at any time agree with, and no others, shall and lawfully may vse and
exercise bis said Invenčon of seperating pig or sow iron from iron stone or
iron mine by meanes of sea or pit cole in an air furnace, as above described,
within that part of our Kingdom of Great Britain called England, our
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed, in such manner
ns to him the said Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes,
or any of them, shall in their discretions seem meet, and that he the said
Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, shall and lawfully
may have and enioy the whole profit, benefit, commodity, and advantage, from
time to time comeing, growing, accrewing, and ariseing, by reason of the said
Invencon, for and during the term of yeares herein menčoned; to have, hold,
exercise, and enioy the said lycence, powers, priviledges, and advantages
herein-before granted or menconed to be granted vnto the said Francis
Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, for and during and vnto
the full end and term of fourteen yeares from the date of Presents next and
immediately ensueing, and fully to be compleat and ended according to the
Statute in such case made and provided. And to the end that the said
Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, and every of them,
may have and enioy the full benefit and the sole vse and exercise of the said
Invencon, according to our gratious intenčon herein-before declared, wee do
by these Presents for vs, our heires and successors, require and strictly comand
all and every person and persons, bodies politick and corporate, and all other
our subiects whatsoever, of what estate, quality, degree, name, or condition
soever they be, within that said part of our Kingdom of Great Britain called
England, our Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed afore-
said, that neither they or any of them, at any time during the continuance of
the said terme of fourteen yeares hereby granted, either directly or indirectly,
do make, vse, or put in practice the said Invenčon or any part of the same
so attained vnto by the said Francis Wood, as aforesaid, nor in any wise

page_text: counterfeit, imitate, or resemble the same, nor shall make or cause to be
made any addition thereunto or substraction from the same, whereby to
pretend himselfe or themselves the inventor or inventors, devisor or devisors,
thereof, without the lycence, consent, or agreement of the said Francis Wood,
his executors, administrators, or assignes, in writing vuder his or their hands
and seales first had and obtained in that behalfe, vpon such pains and
penalties as can or may be iustly inflicted on such offenders, for their con-
tempt of this our royall command; and further to be answerable to the said
Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, according to law,
for his and their damages thereby occasioned; and moreover, wee do by
these Presents for vs, our heires and successors, will and command all and
singular the justices of the peace, mayors, sheriffes, bayliffes, constables, head--
boroughs, and all other officers and ministers whatsoever of vs, our heires
and successors, for the time being, that they or any of them do not, nor
shall at any time hereafter during the said terme hereby granted, in any.
wise molest, trouble, or hinder the said Francis Wood, his executors, admi-
nistrators, or assigns, or any of them, or his or their deputies, servants, or agents,
in or about the due and lawfull vse or exercise of the aforesaid Invenčon,
or any thing relating thereto: Provided always, and these our Letters Patents
are and shall be vpon this condition, that if at any time during the said
term hereby granted it shall be made appear to vs, our heires or successors,
or successors, or any six or more of our or their Privy Council, that this
our grant is contry to law, or preiudiciall or inconvenient to our subiects in
generall, or that the said Invention is not a new invention as to the publick
vse and exercise thereof in that said part of our Kingdom of Great Britain
called England, our Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed
aforesaid, or not invented and found out by the said Francis Wood as
aforesaid, then, vpon signification or declaration thereof, to be made by vs,
our heires or successors, vnder our or their signet or privy seal, or by the
Lords and others of our or their Privy Council, or any six or more of them,
vnder their hande, these our Letters Patente shall forthwith cease, determine,
and be vtterly void to all intents and purposes, anything herein-before
contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding: Provided also
that these our Letters Patents, or any thing herein contained, shall not
extend or be construed to extend to give priviledge vnto the said Francis
Wood, his executors, administrators, or assignes, or any of them, to vse or
imitate any invenčon or work whatsoever which hath heretofore been found out.
or invented by any other of our subiects whatsoever, and publickly vsed ar
exercised in that said part of our said Kingdom of Great Britain called..

page_text: England, our Dominion of Wales, or Town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed afore-
said, vnto whom like Letters Patents or priviledges have been already granted
for the sole vse, exercise, and benefit thereof, it being our will and pleasure
that the said Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, and
all and every other person and persons to whom like Letters Patents or
priviledges have been already granted, as aforesaid, shall distinctly vse and
practice their severall invenčons by them invented and found out, according
to the true intent and meaning of the same respective Letters Patents, and of
these Presents: Provided likewise, neverthelesse, and these our Letters
Patents are vpon this expresse condičon, that if the said Francis, his executors
or administrators, or any person or persons which shall or may, at any time or
times hereafter during the continuance of this grant, have or claim any right,
tytle, or interest in law or equity, of, in, or to the power, priviledge, and
authority of the sole vse and benefit of the said Invenčon hereby granted, shall
make any transferr or assignment, or any pretended transferr or assignment, of
the said liberty and priviledge, or any share or shares of the benefit or profit
thereof, or shall declare any trust thereof to or for any number of persons
exceeding the number of five, or shall open or cause to be opened any booke
or books for publick subscripcons, to be made by any number of persons
exceeding the number of five, in or to the raising any sume or sumes of money
vnder pretence of carrying on the said liberty or priviledge hereby granted;
or shall by him or themselves, or his or their agents or servants, receive any
sume or sumes of money whatsoever, of any number of persons exceeding in
the whole the number of five, for such or the like intents or purposes, shall
presume to act as a corporate body, or shall divide the benefit of these our
Letters Patent, or the liberty and priviledges herereby by vs granted, into
any number of shares exceeding the number of five; or shall comitt, or do, or
procure to be committed or done, any act, matter, or thing whatsoever, during
such time as such person shall have any right or title, either in law or equity,
in or to the said premisses, which would be contrary to the true intent and
meaning of a certain Act of Parliament made in the sixth year of our reign,
intituled (An Act for the better securing certain Powers and Priviledges
intended to be granted by His Maiestie by Two Charters for Assurance of
Shipps and Merchandizes at Sea, and for lending Money vpon Bottomry, and
for restraining severall extravagant and vnwarrantable Practices therein men-
čoned), if these our Letters Patents had not been granted, or in case the
said power, priviledge, or authority shall at any time hereafter become vested
in or in trust for more than the number of five persons or their representatives
at any one time, (reckoning executors or administrators as and for the single

page_text: person whom they represent as to such interest, as they are or shall be intitled to
in right of such their testator or intestate,) that then and in any of the said cases
these our Letters Patents, and all liberties, priviledges, and advantages what-
soever hereby granted shall vtterly cease, determine, and become void, anything
herein-before contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.
And, lastly, wee do by these Presents, for vs, our heires and successors, grant
vnto the said Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, that
these our Letters Patents, or the inrollment or exemplification thereof, shall
be in and by all things good, firm, valid, sufficient, and effectual in the law
according to the true intent and meaning thereof, and shall be taken, construed,
and adiudged in the most favourable and beneficial sense for the best advantage
of the said Francis Wood, his executors, administrators, and assignes, aswell
in all our Courts of Record as elswhere, and by all and singular the officers
and ministers whatsoever of vs, our heires and successors, in that part of
our said Kingdom of Great Britain called England, our Dominion of Wales,
and Town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed aforesaid, and amongst all and every the
subiects of vs, our heires and successors, whatsoever and wheresoever, notwith-
standing the not full and certain describing the nature or quality of the said
Invention, or of the materials thereto conducing and belonging.
In witness, &c. Witness our selfe at Westminster, the One-and-twentieth
day of January.