IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOCK TOWER TURRET AND OTIENO YOUR RETTO
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Lewis Baker, of Hargreave, in the County
of Northampton, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLOCK TOWER TURRET AND OTIENO YOUR RETTO "
Sealed the 12th September 1854, and dated the 10th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Lewis Baker at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th April 1854.
I, WILLIAM LEWIS BAKER, of Hargreave, in the County of Northampton,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN CLOCK TOWER, TURRET, AND OTHER LIKE BELLS" to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists, first, in hanging such bells upon one bolt or axis, for
which purpose I fix a bolt through the crown of the bell, or cast the bell with
a tail or projection, which I fix in the stock; second, in constructing the stock
of metal; and third, in fixing to the bolt or to the shank, by which the bell is
held in the stock, a toothed wheel, into which a pinion or an endless screw is
made to gear, so that the bell may be moved round with facility, and present
a fresh surface to the clapper or hammer, whereby all uneven wear will be
prevented, and the bells will be rendered more durable.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Lewis Baker in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LEWIS BAKER, of Hargreave, in the County of Northampton, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Lewis Baker, Her special licence that I, the said William
Lewis Baker, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Lewis Baker, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN CLOCK TOWER, TURRET, AND OTHER LIKE BELLS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Lewis Baker, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 1, the said William Lewis Baker, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say-
The first part of my Invention consists in hanging clock tower, turret, and
other like bells upon one bolt or axis. This is accomplished in three ways;
firstly, by passing a central bolt through the crown of the bell; secondly, by
attaching a central bolt to the top of the crown; and thirdly, by casting an
axis on the top of the crown. The first of these methods is shewn in Figures
1, 2, 3, and 4, of the Drawings annexed. A is the central bolt, which passes
up through the crown B, B, of the bell; this central bolt carries the whole
weight of the bell upon the collar C; the lower end of the bolt is prolonged
sufficiently and formed into a joint D, to which is secured the upper end of the

page_text: shank E of the clapper F; the upper end of the bolt passes up through the
stock G, G, and is secured to it by nuts H, H. The bolt is angular at the
part I, and the hole in the stock through which it passes is of the same
sectional form, it being necessary that the bolt should be unable to turn in the
stock, in order that the joint D of the clapper may always be in the same
plane with the gudgeons O, O. The second of these methods is shewn in
Figures 8 and 9. A is the central bolt attached to a central boss Q, cast on
the crown B, B, of the bell; this main bolt A carries the weight of the bell
on the collar C, and the upper end of it passes up through the stock G, G, and
is secured to it by nuts H, H. The upper end of a bolt M passes through
the crown B, B, of the bell, and is fixed into the lower end of the central
bolt A; the lower end of the bolt M is formed into a joint D, to carry the
upper end of the shank of the clapper. The third of these methods is shewn
in Figures 5 and 6. K is the axis, cast on to the crown B, B, of the bell;
this passes up through the stock G, G, and is secured to it by nuts L, L. A
bolt M passes up the centre of the axis K; the lower end of this bolt is formed
into a joint D, to carry the upper end of the shank E of the clapper, and the
upper end is secured by nuts N, N.
The second part of my Invention consists in constructing the stock or beam,
upon which a bell is hung, of metal.
elevation, the gudgeons being at O, O.
centre of the stock G, G. Figure 3 is
details of these metal stocks will not be the same in all cases as the one here
described and shewn in the Drawing, but will vary with circumstances and
with the size of the bells. An inner ring is cast in the bell wheel, and the
wheel is attached to the upper part of the stock by a bolt or bolts passing
through the inner ring. W, Figure 2, is the inner ring of the wheel X;
Y, Figure 1, is a bolt, attaching the wheel to the upper part of the stock.
Figure 1 shews the stock G, G, in
Figure 2 shews a section through the
a plan of the stock. The shape and
The third part of my Invention consists in attaching to a central boss cast
on the crown of the bell or to the axis, before mentioned, a toothed wheel, in
which an endless screw or pinion is made to gear, for the purpose of enabling
the bell to be turned round, so as to present a fresh surface to the clapper or
hammer. Figures 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8, shew the toothed wheel P, keyed on to
the boss Q, (or it may be cast on to the boss); the endless screw R, Figures 4
and 7, is made to gear into this wheel, and is furnished with a square or
angular head S (Figures 1 and 3) at the outer end, to receive a spanner or
wrench, with which it may be turned by hand, and through the medium of the
toothed wheel move the bell round horizontally, the clapper remaining
stationary. Figures 5 and 6 shew the toothed wheel P, keyed on to the lower

page_text: part of the axis K, or it may be cast on to the axis; the pinion T is made to
gear into the toothed wheel P, and the pinion spindle U is furnished with a
square or angular head V at the cuter end, to enable it to be turned by hand
with a spanner or wrench.
The following advantages will be obtained by these several improvements :-
Firstly, it is not only a more simple but it is a safer plan to hang a bell
upon one central bolt or axis than upon 8 or 10 small bolts, as is usual, it
being practically impossible to keep all the bolts in the latter case equally
tight, and consequently there will be a greater strain on some than on others;
it is also more simple to cast a circular boss or axis on the top of the
bell than the ordinary ears, called canons, which are complicated and expensive
to mould.
Secondly, a metal stock is very superior to a wooden one, because the two
gudgeons can be more accurately fixed in reference to each other, and turned
up with greater truth in the former than in the latter case; a metal stock is
also more rigid, and not liable to warp by variation of temperature, exposure to
the weather, and age, which is always more or less the case with a wooden
one; true gudgeons and rigid stocks render a peal of bells capable of being
rung with great accuracy, and also with great comfort to the ringers, owing
to the small amount of friction to be overcome; and it may be added, that
metal stocks and frames would render a peal of bells fire-proof.
Thirdly, a bell hung upon one central bolt or axis, as before described, is
capable of being moved round upon that axis with great ease, so as to present
at intervals the whole of the internal surface of the sound bow to the action
of the clapper; and in a clock tower bell, the whole of the external surface of
the sound bow to the action of the hammer. With the addition of the screw
and toothed wheel or pinion and toothed wheel, as circumstances may require,
heavy bells will be as easily moved round by hand as light ones. The result
will be, that the blows of the clapper and hammer, instead of falling constantly
on the same parts of the sound bow, wearing it into holes, and ultimately
cracking the bell, will be spread over the whole circumference of the sound
bow, and wear it equally throughout; the bell will not deteriorate in sound,
and will be rendered exceedingly durable.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my
Invention is,
First, the hanging of clock tower, turret, and other like bells upon one bolt
or axis.
Second, the construction of the stock or beam of such bells of metal.

page_text: And, third, the construction of such bells with a wheel attached to them, or
ring of teeth cast thereon, having an endless screw or pinion gearing therewith,
for the purpose of enabling the bells to be turned round, so as to present a fresh
surface to the clapper or hammer.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lewis Baker, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four.
WILLIAM LEWIS BAKER. (L.S.)