A STEAM ENGINE, ON PRINCIPLES ENTIRELY NEW
Year: 1787

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM SYMINGTON, of Wanlock Head, in the Parish of Sanquhar,
in the County of Dumfries, North Britain, send greeting.
7:
WHEREAS I, the said William Symington, did, by my petition,
humbly represent unto His Majesty, that after much study I had
invented "A STEAM ENGINE, ON PRINCIPLES ENTIRELY NEW," which I ap-
prehended would-be of great public utility; that I was the first and true
Inventor thereof, and the same is not known to or practised by any
other person or persons, to the best of my knowledge or belief; I there-
fore most humbly prayed His Majesty that he would be graciously
pleased to grant to me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His
Majesty's Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
for the sole benefit and advantage of my said Invention within England
and His Dominion of Wales and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, for
the term of fourteen years, pursuant to the Statute in that case made
and provided: And whereas by the said Letters Patent under the
Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date the Fifth day of June, in
the twenty-seventh year of the reign of His said Majesty, after reciting

page_text: the said petition, and also reciting that His Majesty, being willing to
give encouragement to all arts and inventions that might be for the
public good, was graciously pleased to condescend to my request, His
Majesty, of His especial grace, certain knowledge, and meer motion,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Symington, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns,
His special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority that I, the
said William Symington, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
every of them, by myself or themselves; or by my or their deputy or
deputy's, servants or agents, or such others as I, the said William
Symington, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend my said Invention within that part of His
Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain called England, His Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, in such manner as to me,
the said William Symington, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or any of them, should in my or their discretions seem meet; and
that I, the said William Symington, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should and. lawfully might have and enjoy the whole benefit,
commodity, and advantage, from time to time coming, growing,
accruing, and arising by reason of the said Invention for and during the
term of years therein mentioned; to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the
said licence, powers, priviledges, and advantages therein-before granted
or mentioned to be granted unto me, the said William Symington, my
extors, administrators, and assigns,, for and during and unto the full
end and term of fourteen years from the date of the said Letters Patent
next and immediately ensuing, and fully to be compleat and ended
according to the statute in such case made and provided; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that if I, the said William
Symington, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same
to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one

page_text: calendar month next and immediately after the date of those His
Majesty's Letters Patent, that then His said Majesty's Letters Patent,
and liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly
cease, determine, and become void, any thing therein-before contained:
to the contrary thereof in anyways notwithstanding.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Symington, in compliance:
with the said provisoe, do hereby describe and, ascertain the nature of.
my said Invention, in manner following, that is to say:
The several Drawings delineated and herewith produced and sub-:
scribed by me as relative thereunto, and marked with the Figures 1, 2,
and. 3, are so many sections, in which are displayed the use of the
machinery in my method of separating the steam from the water, tho
in the same cylinder, combining the steam and atmosphere. pressures,;
expelling from the cylinder the water, air, or any other incondensible
bodies which may be collected therein while the engine is working, and
in heating the cylinder externally, and not by means of steam; the par-
ticulars of which they consist being as follows, viz, first, by condensing
the steam within the same cylinder, marked G, in section. No. 1, and.
not cooling it in that place where the powers of the steam are to be:
made use of when in a rarified state by having what. I call a medium
marked A, A, in section N° 1, (which medium will be made of iron or.
other solid bodies,) fitted in the cylinder, and inade so close, by means
of stuffing or otherwise, that neitlier the water which remains below the:
medium in the cylinder can act so immediately upon the steam as to
condense it at an improper time, nor the steam above warm the water.
below the imedium so much as to render it incapable to assist the water,
that may be jetted into the cylinder to condense the steami when wanted.:
This medium, while the engine is at work, is made to rise and fall by.
means of the engine or otherwise; but the common way in which it
will be wrought will be by a weight marked (b) in section No 'T, -or
balance, which will act upon a beam marked C, in section Nº 1, con-
nected with a moveable rod, which. comes down from the medium tó
the bottom of the cylinder, which, as soon as the pressure of the steam:
is taken from above it, or the steam allowed to pass thro' it, which is done

page_text: by opening a valve marked d, in section No 1, (placed in it for that pur
pose,) then the said balance or engine shall raise the medium out of the
water contained in the bottom of the cylinder so as to expose to the steam:
the surface of that water, which will be twice the diameter of that part
of the cylinder into which the steam is admitted above the medium, so
that it may more readily assist the water jetting in to condense the steam.
After the steam is thus condensed, the valve in this medium, before the
steam is allowed to enter the cylinder again, is shut, so that after the
steam comes into the cylinder it acts with such force upon the top of
the medium as to depress it, and cause expell from the bottom of the
cylinder, through openings marked (e, e,) section No 1, made for that:
purpose, as much water as was jetted into the cylinder during the
stroke of the engine alongst with the air or any other incendensible
bodies that may be collected therein. Secondly, by loading the peston
marked ff, in section N° 1, with so much more weight than the pump
rods, or what may be applyed to the out end of the great lever, can
counterbalance as the power of the steam, which, when the engine is
fully burdened, may press up the piston, or what may be used in place
of it, with a force not less than equal to two pounds weight for every
square inch of surface contained in that moveable part exposed to the
steam, can raise. Thirdly, in having that vessel commonly called the
cylinder heated externally, not by steam, but, as soon as the flue
marked in section N° 1, quits the boiler, by leaving the. whole or a
part of it in a spiral direction round its cylinder. Fourthly, I intend
using a boiler, by part of which the fireplace is formed. Fifthly, when
rotatary motions of whatever kind are wanted, two ratchet wheels, such
as are marked i, i, in section N° 3, will be placed upon two or the
same axis in such manner that while the engine turns forward the one
wheel, the other will be reversed without impeding the motion or dimi-
nishing the power, so as to be ready to carry on the inotion by the tinie
the other wheel begins to be reversed. These ratchett wheels will be
turned by two racks rods, marked k, k, in section No 3, and a weight
marked O, which will be connected to the engine or otherwise. When a
double engine is applied, two pulley wheels may be made use of instead

page_text: the ratchet wheels, and chains or some other flexible substance
pted in place of the rack rods....
In witness whereof, I, the said William Symington, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-seventh day of June, in the
twenty-seventh year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George
the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and
Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c., and in the year of
our Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven.
IT REMEMBRED, that it appears to the Court of our Lord
King, in His Chancery at Westminster, by an affidavit in the fol-
g words (that is to say): -
Adam Grieve, of the City of Edinburgh, in North Britain, Gen-
tleman, maketh oath and sayeth, that he did see William
Symington, in the Deed Pole annexed, sign and seal and as
his act and deed deliver the said Deed Poll, with three sections
of the steam engine mentioned in said Deed Poll, marked
1st, 2d, and 3d, and each sighed by the said William Syming-
ton, as referred to by the said Deed Poll, in the presence of
Gilbert Meason, of the City of Edinburgh aforesaid, Gentleman,
and of this deponent; and that the names William Symington
appearing to be set and subscribed at the foot of the said Deed
Poll as the party executing the same, and Gilbert Meason and
Adam Grieve indorsed on the back thereof as witnesses attesting
the due execution of the same, are of the respective hands-

page_text: writing of the said William Symington, appearing to be set
and subscribed upon the back of each of the said three sections
of the steam engine, inarked No. 1, 2, & 3d, is of the hand-
writing of the said William Symington.
..
ADAM GRIEVE.
Sworn at Edinburgh aforesaid, the Twenty-seventh day of
June, One thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, he-
fore the Honorable James Veitch, of Eliock, one of the
Senators of the College of Justice.
JA VEITCH, J. P.
That the said William Symington did acknowledge the said Inven-
ion, and the Specifications above mentioned, and every part thereof
herein mentioned and specified, to be the nature, principle, and form
f the said Invention above mentioned; before the said James Veitch;
nd that the same was duly stampt; and was inrolled in His Majesty's
High Court of Chancery in England, the Third day of July, in the
ear above written.