IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Port Ayres, of Newark-on-Trent, in the
County of Nottingham, Horticultural Engineer and Architect, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORTICULTURAL
BUILDINGS."
Sealed the 10th June 1873, and dated the 13th December 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Port Ayres at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th December 1872.
I, WILLIAM PORT AYRES, of Newark-on-Trent, in the County of
Nottingham, Horticultural Engineer and Architect, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS," to be as follows :-
The present Invention consists of various improvements upon a former
Invention relating to the construction of horticultural buildings for
which I obtained Letters Patent, bearing date 1st July, 1870, No. 1870.
My present improvements have for their object to simplify and cheapen
the construction of such buildings.
Instead of forming the principal rafters of the structure of three parts
as in my former Invention, I form each of them of a single bar of T iron
of the required strength. This bar I bend to the necessary form,

page_text: 1
according to the kind of structure I intend to erect, and I place the base
of this bar in a shoe prepared to receive it, and bolt it into a cast or
wrought-iron head piece, and thus form the principals of my houses.
These principals are tied together longitudinally by purlines made of
channelled angular iron which is bolted to the T iron rafters, and the
channels of these purlines carry the ends of the squares of glass. The
sides of the glass are carried by what I call expanding and non-
conducting glazing tubes. The expanding glazing tubes are formed of
two parts, and consist of metal bars rolled to the proper section, so as to
fit and slide on one another, leaving a groove or channel to receive the
edges of the glass. These bars are fitted to the channel of the iron
purlines at the top, and are screwed to the next piece of angle iron at
the bottom. As the top part of the tube slides on to the lower tube it
will only be necessary to take out the screw which holds down the top
slide, and then draw it off the fixed part of the bar. The square of glass
may then be placed in the groove, and the upper slide replaced in a
minute or two. These glazing tubes may be used either with or without
hydraulic cement in the joints, and if made of zinc or copper will require
no painting.
If the roof requires strengthening I accomplish that end by using
wrought-iron tie rods, which may be tightened by means of a right and
left handed screw placed at or near the centre of the tie bar. By
turning this screw both ends of the rod may be tightened at the same
time.
For tightening the training sides used in vinerie and other analogous
structures, a length of hollow gas tubing is made fast to each standard
along the front of the house, and upon these are secured at convenient
distances apart short pieces of tube one half of which is cylindrical and
the other half octagonal. On these are threaded the necessary number
of "tension tubes." These tension tubes in their length are also half
circular and half octagonal, and therefore correspond with the fixed short
pieces, so that the larger tubes fit upon the smaller, but are capable of
revolving upon the circular part. To this loose tube the wire is fixed,
and may be strained by turning round the loose tube, and when the
wires are sufficiently tight they may be secured by slipping the octagonal
part of the larger and sliding piece over the octagonal part of the fixed
piece.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Port Ayres in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th June 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PORT AYRES, of Newark-on-Trent, in the County of Nottingham, Horti-
cultural Engineer and Architect, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Port Ayres, Her special
licence that I, the said. William Port Ayes, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Port Ayres,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agrec 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 THE CONSTRUCTION OF HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Port Ayres, 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 Port Ayres, 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 hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :—
The present Invention consists of various improvements upon a former
Invention relating to the construction of horticultural buildings, for
which I obtained Letters Patent, bearing date First July, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy, No. 1870. My present improvements have
•

page_text: for their object to simplify and cheapen the construction of such
buildings, and are shewn in detail in the accompanying Drawing, in
which Fig. 1 represents a transverse vertical section of a conservatory or
horticultural building constructed according to my recent improve-
ments.
Instead of forming the principal rafters of the structure of three parts
as in my former Invention I form [each of them of a single bar a, a,
of T iron of the required strength. This bar I bend to the necessary
form, according to the kind of structure I intend to erect, as shewn at
Fig. 1, and I place the base of this bar in a shoe prepared to receive it
and secured in the blocks 6 forming the foundation of the dwarf
walls b¹, b¹, which I prefer to construct in concrete. The upper ends of
the rafters a, a, are secured to a cast or wrought-iron head piece c, so
that the principals of the house are firmly and rigidly secured. These
principals a are tied together longitudinally by purlins d, d, shewn
detached upon an enlarged scale in section and side elevation at Figures 2
and 3. They are made of channelled angular iron, and are notched on
and bolted to the T iron rafters a, a, as shewn in the detached sectional
view, Fig. 4, drawn on an enlarged scale. The channels of these purlins
carry the ends of the squares of glass e, e, as shewn in the enlarged
sectional view, Fig. 5. The sides or edges of the glass are carried by
what I call expanding and non-conducting glazing tubes, which are
formed of two parts, f, ƒ¹, as shewn at Fig. 6, and consist of metal bars
rolled to the proper section so as to fit and slide on one another, leaving
a groove or channel to receive the edges of the glass, as clearly shown in
Fig. 6. The upper ends of these bars are fitted to the channel of the
iron purlins, and their lower ends are screwed to the next angle iron
purlin below. As the top part of the tube slides on to the lower
tube f¹, it will only be necessary to take out the screw shewn by dots in
Fig. 5, which holds down the top slide f, and then draw it off the
fixed part of the bar. The square of glass may then be placed in the
groove, and the upper slide replaced in a minute or two. These glazing
tubes may be used either with or without hydraulic cement in the joints,
and if made of zinc or copper will require no painting. The lower end
of the tubes and also the lower corners of the sheets of glass are held
in place by metal clips 9, Fig. 5 (shewn also in section at Fig. 7). This
clip is provided with a tongue g³ which is inserted in a hole punched in
the purlin, and is secured therein by a cottar h, so that by withdrawing

page_text: this latter the tongue will be loosened or released, and the clip may be
removed as will be necessary when a square of glass requires to be
repaired.
It will be obvious that this mode of securing the glass is applicable to
various kinds of glass roofs, such for instance as those used at railway
stations.
If the roof requires strengthening I accomplish that end by using
wrought-iron tie rods i, i, Fig. 1, which may be tightened by means of a
right and left handed screw i* placed at or near the centre of the tie bar
as shewn in section and side view at Figures 8 and 9. By turning this
screw * both ends of the rod i will be drawn inwards, and may be
tightened at the same time.
For tightening the training wires used in vineries and other analogous
structures, a length of hollow gas tubing is made fast to each standard
along the front of the house, and upon these tubes are secured at con-
venient distances apart, short pieces of tube one-half of which is
cylindrical, and the other half octagonal.
Fig. 10 represents upon an enlarged scale, or drawn full size, a piece
of iron gas tubing j, j, on which is fixed at suitable intervals the short
pieces of tube k, k', the part / being cylindrical, and the part k¹
octagonal. On these are threaded the necessary number of short tension
tubes 1, 1*, as shewn at Fig. 11. These tension tubes are in their length
partly cylindrical as at 1, and partly octagonal as at 2*, and seen best in
the end view, Fig. 12, and therefore correspond with the fixed short
pieces k, k³, so that the large tubes 1, *, fit upon the smaller ones k, k¹,
but are capable of revolving upon the cylindrical part ķ. To an eye on
this loose tube 7, 1*, the wire m is fixed, and may be strained by turning
round the loose tube.l, *, and when the wires are sufficiently tight, the
parts may be secured and the wires held properly strained by slipping
the octagonal part of the larger and sliding piece 1, 2*, over the
octagonal part of the fixed piece k, k¹.
At Figures 13, 14, and 15, I have shewn a modification of the plan
shewn at Figures 10, 11, and 12. The longitudinal fixed metal gas
tube j is provided with a projecting nib ³, Figures 13 and 15, which
; enters one of eight notches made in the end of the sliding tube l, shewn
in end elevation at Fig. 14. The straining wire m is attached to an eye
on the short tube as in the former instance, but the fixed octagonal

page_text: piece k, k, is dispensed with. The short tube is made cylindrical
inside and fits any part of the gas tube j on which it will freely rotate,
and when by turning round the short tube l, the wire m is made
sufficiently tight, the tube 7 may be secured by moving it laterally as
indicated by dots in Fig. 13, so as to bring the nib into one of the
eight notches shewn at Fig. 14.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the Con-
struction of Horticultural Buildings," and having explained the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to
me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
: First. Constructing the principals or framework of the structure of
long lengths of T iron bent into the required form, and secured or com-
bined as herein set forth.
Second. Forming the purlins of channel iron and bracing the struc-
ture, as herein set forth.
Third. I claim the application of the expanding glazing tubes f, f¹,
and the clips.g, as and for the purposes herein set forth.
Fourth. I claim constructing the tie rods of horticultural buildings,
as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fifth. I claim the devices herein shewn and described for tightening
or straining the training wires of vineries and other horticultural
structures.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Port Ayres, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.