IMPROVEMENTS IN BUILDING BLOCKS AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS, AND IN NO AND DRAINING THE CAND
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Josiah George Jennings, of Palace Wharf, Stan-
gate, in the Parish of Lambeth, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BUILDING BLOCKS AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS, AND IN
NO AND DRAINING THE CAND
"
Sealed the 3rd August 1869, and dated the 14th April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Josiah George Jennings
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th April 1869.
I, JOSIAH GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Wharf, Stangate, in the
Parish of Lambeth, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUILDING BLOCKS AND IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS,
AND IN APPLIANCES NECESSARY TO WARMING AND DRAINING THE SAME," to be as
follows:-
When constructing buildings in order to prevent damp rising I lay
on the foundations slabs formed in the following manner:-I prepare

page_text: light metal frames of suitable sizes having cross bars cast or fixed to
keep them in form; these frames I place in suitable moulds and charge
them with slate powder and sufficient pitch or other resinous matter to
cause the mixture to form a solid slab when subject to heat and great
pressure.
In order to render the interior of buildings independent of change
from external temperature and to make the walls impervious to moisture
in wet weather, or when constructed below the ground level, I build the
walls double, employing an improved stoneware or highly vitrified bond
brick in which the two ends which bed in the brickwork are connected
together by an incline, thus
This inclination of the bond brick
renders it impossible for moisture to pass up the incline from the external
wall to the interior wall.
•
In order to avoid the unsightly appearance of revolving cowls or other
forms of chimney pots as at present constructed I construct in metal,
terra cotta, or other suitable material a case of globular, pyramidical, or
other in keeping with the architectural character of the building;
this case, which is mounted on the top of the chimney, I perforate with
vertical, horizontal, or other slits or perforations of ornamental character
or form for the free escape of the smoke. Within the case so formed I
place a cowl of a suitable form suspended from the top of the case and
free to revolve therein, the directing vane being within the case or on
the spindle at the top. The outlet for the smoke is thus made to turn
and discharge towards the point to which the wind is blowing. It will
be seen where chimney tops are so constructed the ornamental case acts
as a wind guard in exposed situations. The cowl being suspended from
the top the interior offers no obstruction to the entry of the sweep's
brush for the cleansing of the cowl when the chimney is swept.
In the drainage of buildings it often occurs that pipes of varying
lengths are necessary to complete the line of drain. To meet this want
short pieces of pipes of various lengths have been made. To render in
the future these various lengths of pipe unnecessary I make telescope
adjusting pipes, on end for a distance sufficient to enter a socket of the
size required for the drain, and the remainder of the length of pipe
sufficiently large for the pipe following to enter into it a greater or less
distance as may be required, and be capable of adjustment like a telescope
to any length.

page_text: In order to cover the roofs and walls of buildings with economy as
regards slate, saving materials, and consequent weight I, in some cases,
combine the ordinary slate by means of double grooved lead, such as is
used in constructing church and other windows. Ornamental tiles and
metal or other plates may be employed in place of slates. The slates,
tiles, or plates are held by the lead groove formed to receive them on
every side; or in other cases I fit the lead to the vertical joint only,
giving to the slates, tiles, metal or other plates a lap sufficient to render
the roof sound.
In order to give to a roof the appearance and the effect due to the
use of hips and ridges, and to render such parts sound and impervious
to rain, instead of employing a wood roll and covering the same with
lead I secure to either side of the hip or ridge timber a flashing of lead
or slate, over which I fix a metal roll like a split tube with flanges at its
edge and made so as to clip the hip or ridge piece.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Josiah George Jennings in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 14th October 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSIAH
GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Wharf, Stangate, in the Parish of Lambeth,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Josiah George Jennings,
Her special licence that I, the said Josiah George Jennings, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Josiah George Jennings, 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 IN BUILDING BLOCKS AND

page_text: IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS, AND IN APPLIANCES NECESSARY TO WARMING
AND DRAINING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Josiah George Jennings, 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 Josiah George Jennings, do 1
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
When constructing buildings in order to prevent damp rising I lay on
the foundations slabs formed in the following manner :-I prepare light 1
metal frames, which I place in suitable moulds and charge with slate
powder and pitch or other resinous matters. I then apply heat and
great pressure, and so form a solid slab.
In carrying into practical effect this part of my Invention I prefer to
proceed as follows:-I prepare moulds of the size of the slabs I desire
to produce, such moulds consisting of strong rectangular frames jointed
together at the corners and stout top and bottom plates of a size just to
enter within the frame. The slabs may conveniently be of a length of three
or four feet, of a width equal to the thickness of the wall in which they
are to be used, and of a thickness of, say, two or three inches. In filling
the mould there is embedded in the powder a light and stiff metal frame,
it may be a lattice frame of cast iron or it may be of corrugated wrought
iron perforated with numerous holes. Care is taken to place the frame
in the mould so that equal quantities of the powder may be above and
below it, and so that the edges of the frame may be at equal distances a
from the sides of the mould all round. After the mould has been filled
it is placed in an oven and heated, say, to 200 degrees Fahrenheit,
it is then placed under the press and exposed to a heavy pressure, say
1000 lbs. to the square inch. The mould is then removed from the
press, and when it is cold the slab is taken out and is ready for use.
According to another part of my Invention in order to render the
interior of buildings independent of change from external temperature

page_text: and to make the walls impervious to moisture in wet weather, or when
constructed below the ground level, I build the walls double, employing
an improved stoneware or highly vitrified bond brick in which the two
ends which bed in the brickwork are connected together by an incline,
thus,
This inclination of the bond brick renders it impossible for
moisture to pass up the incline from the external wall to the interior
wall.
.
Figures 1 of the annexed Drawings show a bond brick made according
to this part of my Invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of a
portion of a hollow wall constructed with such bond bricks. Where it
is advisable that the ends of the bond should appear they may, as the
Drawing indicates, be made of a length equal to the full thickness of
the wall, in other cases they may be made shorter and their ends con-
cealed by the ordinary brickwork either on one or both faces of the wall.
The form of the block may be otherwise varied, but always preserving
the inclination upwards in passing from the outer to the inner face of
the double wall, which is essential to this part of my Invention. The
materials of which the bond is constructed may also be varied, for
example, cast iron may be used, and in this case I form the bond with
two palms, one at either end, which enter the horizontal joints of the
wall, and intermediate of the palms and connecting them is a web, which
is made thin or narrow and of considerable depth, so that mortar may
not rest upon it.
According to another part of my Invention in order to avoid the
unsightly appearance of revolving cowls or other forms of chimney pots
as at present constructed I construct in metal, terra cotta, or other
suitable material a case of a form in keeping with the architectual
character of the building. This case, which is mounted on the top of the
chimney, I perforate with slits or perforations of ornamental character
or form for the free escape of the smoke. Within the case so formed
I place a cowl suspended from the top of the case and free to revolve
therein, the directing vane being on the spindle at the top. The outlet
for the smoke is thus made to turn and discharge towards the point to
which the wind is blowing. The cowl being suspended from the top the
interior offers no obstruction to the entry of the sweep's brush for the
cleansing of the cowl when the chimney is swept.

page_text: t
Figure 3 is a side view of a cowl chimney pot constructed according
to this part of my Invention. a, a, is the case; in this instance it is of
terra cotta; it has a metal cap or frame 6 fixed at the top; this cap or
frame is shown separately in plan at Figure 4. At the top of this frame
is a socket through which the spindle of the cowl passes; it carries above
the socket the directing vane c, and beneath it the cowl d.
Figure 5 show the cowl separately. As will be seen the case has
slits formed in it all around, and the cowl is open on one side and closed
on the other. It presents its closed side to the wind so as to prevent the
entry of the wind into the slits in the case a, whilst it allows the smoke
freely to escape.
Another part of my Invention relates to the draining of buildings. In
the draining of buildings it often occurs that pipes of varying lengths
are necessary to complete the line of drain. To meet this want short
pieces of pipe of various lengths have been made. To render in the
future these various lengths of pipe unnecessary I make telescope
adjusting pipes, one end for a distance sufficient to enter a socket of the
size required for the drain, and the remainder of the length of pipe
sufficiently large for the pipe following to enter into it a greater or less
distance as may be required, and be capable of adjustment like a
telescope to any length.
Figure 6 shows a perspective view of this arrangement; Figure 7 is a
longitudinal section of the same. a and b are two drain pipes laid in
their places, and which have to be coupled or connected together; and
c, c³, are the telescopic pipes, which according to this Invention are
employed for the purpose. The end of the pipe c fits into the socket of
the pipe 6, but for a great part of its length it is able to receive the
pipe c¹ within it. The telescopic pipes are laid in their contracted or
partially contracted state, and the pipe c¹ is drawn out of the pipe c
until its socket receives the end of the pipe a, and thus the connection is
made. A connection so made can be opened at any time without
breaking the pipes.
In order to cover the roofs and walls of buildings with economy as
regards slate, saving materials, and consequent weight, I combine the
ordinary slate by means of double grooved lead such as is used in con-
structing church and other windows. Ornamental tiles and metal or

page_text: other plates may be employed in place of slates. The slates, tiles, or
plates are held by the lead groove formed to receive them on every side;
or in other cases I fit the lead to the vertical joint, only giving to the
slates, tiles, metal or other plates a lap sufficient to render the roof
sound.
Figure 8 shows in section lead such as I employ for this purpose.
The roof or surface to be slated is first boarded all over, and the slates
are laid in the manner shown at Figure 9, the work being commenced
at the lower edge of the roof. The lead is here used in short lengths in
the vertical joints only, the horizontal joints being made secure by over-
lapping the slates. Each slate, as the Drawing indicates, is fixed to the
boarding by nails at its upper end, and each piece of lead has a nail
driven through its lower flange, fastening it to the boarding. The slates
and connecting strips forming one row overlap the next row, and so from
top to bottom of the roof. Or a simpler arrangement is that shown at
Figure 10, where the lead strips are continuous from top to bottom of
the roof, and the slates are inserted into the grooves, the upper slightly
overlapping the lower from top to bottom of the roof. Both the lead
strips and the slates are secured by nails to the boarding of the roof. Or
in some cases I make a frame for the slates similar to that of a church
window, as is shown at Figure 11; here where the leads cross each other
the upper flange and web of the underneath lead is cut away to allow
the upper lead to pass. A nail, which may have an ornamental head, is
inserted at each intersection, as the Drawing indicates.
As before mentioned tiles or plates may be employed in place of
slates. Walls also may be covered in a manner similar to that described
in respect to roofs.
In order to give to a roof the appearance and the effect due to the use
of hips and ridges, and to render such parts sound and impervious to
rain, instead of employing a wood roll and covering the same with lead,
I secure to either side of the hip or ridge timber a flashing of lead or
other material, over which I fix a metal roll like a split tube and made
so as to clip the hip or ridge piece.
This method of making a hip or ridge is shown in end view at
Figure 12. a is the ridge board of the roof; b, b, rafters; c, c, lead or
zine flashings; d, a clip tube of cast iron, galvanised, and fixed in its
place with screws; Figure 13 shows the way in which the tube d fits

page_text: together at the ends.
Sometimes I make the tube d with flanges, as
is shown at Figure 14, and fix them by screws or nails at the
sides.
In witness whereof, I, the said Josiah George Jennings, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.
JOSIAH GEORGE JENNINGS. (L.S.)
JOSIAH GEORGE JENNINGS. (L.S.)