IMPROVEMENTS IN BRICKS USED FOR WALLS TO WHICH TREES ARE TO BE ATTACHED
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Foxley of Stony Stratford, in the County of
Bucks, Brickmaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BRICKS
USED FOR WALLS TO WHICH TREES ARE TO BE ATTACHED."
Sealed the 16th September 1864, and dated the 10th June 1864.
J
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Foxley, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th June 1864.
I, JOHN FOXLEY, of Stony Stratford, in the County of Bucks, Brickmaker,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BRICKS USED FOR WALLS TO WHICH TREES ARE TO BE ATTACHED," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to the formation of ribs or projecting ridges on the
faces of bricks to be used in walls on which trees are to be trained. These
ribs may be horizontal, vertical, or in any other direction, and in the ribs I
form a number of through holes in which pieces of wire or other material
may be threaded, and with which the branches or other parts of trees may
be attached to the wall. By preference I employ a longitudinal rib of a semi-
cylindrical or half round form through which the wire holes pass in a vertical
direction near the base of the rib, that is to say, near the general face of the
brick; the ribs may however be in other directions, and if in vertical
positions on the wall the holes will be horizontal. The projections to receive

page_text: the wire holes may be in other forms than ribs, and as may be found most
convenient. The holes are of course made while the brick is still in the
plastic state. By this means trees are readily secured to walls without
nails and without damage to the walls, but which may be considered a minor
advantage compared to the better training of the trees to which this Invention
conduces.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Foxley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th
December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FOXLEY, of Stony Stratford, in the County of Bucks, Brickmaker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Foxley, Her special licence that I, the said John Foxley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Foxley, 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 BRICKS
USED FOR WALLS TO WHICH TREES ARE TO BE ATTACHED," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Foxley, 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 John Foxley, 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 Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention relates to the formation of ribs or projecting edges on the

page_text: side or end faces of bricks to be used in walls on or to which trees are to be
trained or attached. These ribs may be horizontal, vertical, or in any other
direction; in these ribs I form a number of through holes in which pieces of
wire or other material may be threaded, with which the branches and other
parts of trees may be attached to the wall. By preference I employ a
longitudinal rib of a semi-cylindrical or half round form through which the
wire holes pass in a vertical direction and near the base of the rib (that
is to say, near the general face of the brick). These ribs may, however,
be in other directions, with the holes at right angles or inclined to the
length of the rib, so that if the ribs are disposed vertically on the wall the
holes will be horizontal. The projections to receive the wire holes may be
in other form than half round ribs or beads and as may be found most con-
venient, The holes are made whilst the brick is in a plastic state, and which
are in other respects made and burnt in the usual manner of making bricks.
By these means trees are readily secured to walls without nails and without
damage to the walls, but which may be considered as of minor advantage
when compared with the better training of trees to which this Invention

page_text: Figures 3 and 4; in this case the holes bare at right angles to the position of
those in Figs. 1 and 2, being also transversely to the rib. Instead of the ribs
a being vertical or horizontal, they may occupy a diagonal or inclined position,
or even be of sinuous or irregular form, Instead of the ribs a being semi-
cylindrical they may be of other convenient form, such as three or five-sided.
In Figs. 5 and 6 I have represented cross sections of bricks having the ribs or
projections of such forms, showing the holes b through them as before.
In the foregoing Figures I have represented and supposed the bricks to be
of the form and proportions of bricks in ordinary, which I believe to be the
best, as they will work in accurately with ordinary bricks in building a wall;
but this form is not essentially necessary, as the bricks may be of any form or
dimensions suitable for building a wall, and the ribs may bear any other
be
suitable proportion to the size of the brick. For instance, the brick may
of much less length, breadth, or thickness, while the bead may be of the same
size, or it may be as large as a fire-lump with a rib of about the same size as
that in the smaller one; or the ribs a may be much smaller or much larger
than those shown in the Drawing. In Figs. 7 and 8 I have represented face
and end views of a brick of smaller proportions than those before represented
and referred to, while in Figs. 9 and 10 like representations of a larger form
of brick are exhibited. In Figs. 11 and 12 I have represented a face view
and cross section of a brick that may be used in the facing of walls on which
to train trees. It is thin and may be let into a wall already built, or may
be worked in while building walls for training trees with ordinary bricks.
Fig. 13 represents a wall formed of ordinary bricks, and bricks made
according to my Invention having the ribs disposed horizontally. These ribbed
bricks are worked in at every alternate course, or otherwise, of bricks in the
wall, and form continuous horizontal ribs throughout the surface of the wall.
It will be seen that the branches of the trees pass across the ribs and may be
readily attached thereto by passing pieces of lead or other wire, string, or
other ligature through the holes b, b, at the different points required. The holes
b, b, may be very numerous, and throughout the ribs a, a, all over the
wall; trees can thus be readily trained as required. In this way the wall
receives no damage by nailing as usual, the trees are better aired, while, at
same time, the advantage of the reflected heat and shelter from the wall is
retained. Fig. 14 represents a wall built with ordinary bricks and bricks
according to my Invention, having the ribs a in a vertical position. This
affords nearly equal facilities for the training of the trees as before described,
but I prefer the horizontal form shown at Fig. 13. The vertical ribs of the
bricks are arranged to coincide with each other and form continuous ribs from

page_text: top to bottom, but they may be differently disposed so as to occupy inclined
lines on the wall, which same remark may apply to the horizontal ribs, or the
ribs may be formed diagonally on the faces or ends of the bricks, as before
described and represented in Fig. 15.
Figs 16 & 17 represent end and face views of a brick having the rib or
projection on the lower edge, which may be used as a coping (c Figs 13 &
14) or for the wall in lieu of the other ribbed bricks, the bead having holes
b, b, as before.
Having described the nature of my Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the formation and use of
bricks with ribs or projections having holes through them as and for the
purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Foxley, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
W. CLARK,
Patent Agent,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
L.B.)