AN IMPROVED TWO-WHEELED OPEN VEHICLE OR CARRIAGE
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frances Young, of Norwich, in the County of Norfolk,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED TWO-WHEELED OPEN VEHICLE OR
CARRIAGE."
Sealed the 23rd September 1856, and dated the 2nd April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frances Young at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with her Petition, on the
2nd April 1856.
I, FRANCES YOUNG, of Norwich, in the County of Norfolk, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED TWO-WHEELED OPEN VEHICLE
OR CARRIAGE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in vehicles or carriages, and
consists,-
Firstly, in adapting to the front of the vehicle or carriage a rein-bearer,
which can be adjusted to the height of the horse, and the driver sitting inside
the vehicle or carriage on the back seat has much greater power over the
horse than he has driving over a dasher, which is entirely dispensed with;
the rein-bearer keeping the reins from the horse's tail effectually.
Secondly, in adapting to the front of the vehicle or carriage an adjustable
seat for a driver separate from the other seats, and capable of being entirely
removed when not required for use.

page_text: Thirdly, the seats in the body of the comfort are arranged across the back
and front of the same. The back seat is formed in two parts, one such part
being fixed to the body and the other hinged thereto, to enable persons when
such seat is raised to enter the vehicle or carriage by the door at the back
thereof; a bracket or other contrivance being fixed on the under side of the
said seat, falls into a loop on the inside of the door and effectually locks the
door, so that it cannot be opened until the hinged seat is raised.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frances Young in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCES
YOUNG, of Norwich, in the County of Norfolk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Frances Young, Her, special licence that I, the said Frances Young, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Frances
Young, 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 "AN IMPROVED Two-
WHEELED OPEN VEHICLE OR CARRIAGE," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Frances Young, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Frances Young, 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 (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to improvements in the construction and arrangement
of the various parts of a two-wheeled open vehicle or carriage, which I call a

page_text: "comfort," intended to convey four or more persons, which vehicle or carriage
may be driven either from the inside or from a driving box in front, and it
consists,―
1st, in arranging the seats in the body of the carriage across the back and
front of the same, the back seat being formed of two parts, one part being
fixed to the body of the carriage, and the other attached thereto by hinges in
such manner that when the seat is raised a passage is made by which persons
can enter the said vehicle.
2nd, in adapting to the front of the said carriage a seat for a driver, which
seat can be removed entirely away when not required for use.
3rd, in adapting also to the front of the said carriage a rein-bearer of
metal or other material, to be used when the driver sits inside the carriage,
and which, being adjusted to the height of the horse, prevents the reins getting
twisted or dropt or interfering with the horse's tail, and gives the driver greater
power than he would have with the usual dashers, which may be entirely
dispensed with.
4th, in the arrangement of the door in the back of the carriage, which
door I do not place in the centre of the back as is usual in such cases, but on
one side, the door occupying half the back, thereby allowing additional room
for persons to enter.
5th, in an arrangement by which the shafts may be placed higher on the
body of the carriage than is usual in vehicles intended to be drawn by one
horse, thereby rendering the carriage lighter of draught.
6th, in the contrivance by which the door of the carriage is fastened.
by the hinged seat being placed in the position it would occupy when in actual
use.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed to
describe more fully the manner in which I carry the same into effect, reference
being bad to the annexed Drawings, making part of this Specification, and
which represent perspective views and an elevation of my improved carriage,
and in which similar letters indicate corresponding parts. A is the upper
portion of the body or frame; B, the front seat placed across the vehicle or
parallel to the axletree; C, half of the back seat fixed to the body of the
carriage; D, the second half of the back seat, which, being attached to the
side of the body by hinges, may be raised when passengers are admitted; E, a
platform on the shafts; F, the lower part of the body, which is made to
slope inward at any required angle; G, scroll irons upon which the body
is suspended to the springs; H, wings; I, a rein-bearer of metal or other
material, fitting into staples or a sheath in the front of the carriage; K, a

page_text: bar fixed to the under side of the hinged seat D; L, a loop attached.to
the inside of the door of the carriage M, and which receives the bar K when
the seat is lowered into position, and thereby secures the door until the seat
be again raised; N, a moveable seat for the driver, the bar or support of which,
O, may be passed through staples or into the sheath P, in the front of the
carriage when required for use; Q, a sheath in which the rein-bearer may be
fixed when the carriage is driven from the inside.
The upper portion of the body or frame A may be made of wood or wicker
or any other suitable material, and is curved from front to back, the lowest
point being in the centre or nearly over the axletree, by which arrangements
à waterproof apron may be used, attached to the outside edge of the vehicle
by loops.or knobs, to shelter the passengers from rain, and the drip may be
carried over the side of the vehicle at its lowest point, and the said apron may
be used to cover the whole of the body of the carriage when empty.
The seats B, C, D, being placed across the body or parallel to the axletree,
instead of sideways as in the Irish car, or back to back as in the dog-cart, it is
necessary that the carriage be entered from behind, and by placed the door at
one side of the back instead of 'in the centre, half the width of the back
can be used for that purpose instead of only one-third, as is usual in such
cases, thereby giving additional room for persons to enter. A recess or
shoulder being framed on each side of the vehicle by making the upper
portion of the body A a little wider than the lower portion F, the scroll
irons for the springs can be fixed high on the body, or nearly on a level with
the seats of the carriage, and by using a bent axle, the centre of gravity of the
vehicle can be lowered and the wheels increased in diameter, thereby rendering
the carriago less liable to be overturned and lighter of draught. I also propose
to raise the line of traction, when required, by passing the shafts through the
front of the carriage, and fastening them under the front seat.
The door of the vehicle is provided with a loop L, and the moveable portion
of the back seat C is furnished with a catch K, which fits into the loop L,
when the seat is placed in the position it would occupy in actual use, and
thereby effectually secures the door until the seat is again raised, when the
door is at once free to open. The height of the driving seat N can be adjusted
by a screw or pin passing through the supporting bar O, and the staples or
sheath P in the front of the carriage; and when not required for use it may be
removed entirely away.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not mean or
intend to confine myself to the precise forms or arrangements of the parts

page_text: shewn or described; but what I do claim as of my Invention as secured to me
under the above partly recited Letters Patent is,-
1st, the arrangement of the seats across the body or parallel to the axle-
tree of a two-wheeled open vehicle or carriage.
2nd, the application of a moveable rein-bearer to the front of the carriage
which can be adjusted to the height of the horse, and which prevents the reins
getting twisted or dropt or interfering with the horse's tail.
3rd, the method securing the door of the carriage by providing it with a
loop, into which a catch attached to the under side of the seat falls when the
said seat is placed in a position for actual use.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frances Young, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
FRANCES YOUNG. (L.S.)