IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-PLACES, CHIMNIES, AND STOVE GRATES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Alexander Spurr, of Newton Road, Bays-
water, in the County of Middlesex, Architect, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-PLACES, CHIMNIES, AND STOVE GRATES."
Sealed the 3rd September 1857, and dated the 27th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Alexander Spurr
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 27th March 1857.
I, EDMUND ALEXANDER SPURR, of Newton Road, Bayswater, in the County
of Middlesex, Architect, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-PLACES, CHIMNIES, AND STOVE GRATES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention of " Improvements in Fire-places, Chimnies, and Stove
Grates" has for its object to construct the lower parts of and the openings or
entrances into chimnies in such a manner that the draught of the flue may be
greatly improved, and the chimney prevented from smoking or emitting smoke
into the room or chamber in which the fire-place is situated.
The mode in which I propose to effect this object will depend upon whether
my improvements are to be applied to the construction of a new fire-place and
chimney, or to be adapted to a fire-place or chimney of the old construction.
In constructing a new fire-place, chimney, and flue, I first build up the fire-
place for the reception of the stove grate, from 18 inches to 3 feet in height,

page_text: according to circumstances, and then I throw an arch over, leaving a circular
or other conveniently shaped opening in the crown or top of the arch. Upon
this I place a funnel-shaped pipe, that is rather larger in diameter at bottom
than at top. This pipe may be made either of brickwork or of iron, or, by
preference, of earthenware or pottery ware. I build round this pipe in brick-
work, and in that way carry up the flue to the required height, placing pipe
upon pipe and building round them. At the bottom of the flue or chimney,
and immediately above the stove grate, I place a register plate of peculiar
construction, and which forms a most essential and important part of my
Invention. This register plate may be built into the chimney, and in some
cases it may be found desirable that it should be firmly stepped into the walls
all round, and the pipes that form the flue may be supported thereby.
The register plate has a large circular or other conveniently shaped opening
made at about its central part, and this opening is provided with a valve or
cover, which is adapted thereto in such a manner by lever catches, bolts, or
buttons, that it may be detached and entirely removed when required to sweep
the chimney.
In this valve or cover is also made an opening, also provided with a cover,
which is hinged thereto, so that it may be opened and thrown back to allow
the smoke and gases from the fire to pass through and escape up the flue,
but which when closed and secured from the under side will form an effective
obstacle or barrier to the entrance into the room of any smoke from down-
draught.
Instead of building this improved register plate into the chimney at the
bottom of the flue, it may be adapted to the stove grate, so as to form part
thereof, the ordinary moveable register plate being dispensed with. I also
propose to ventilate the room or chamber by means of an aperture made in
the ceiling, and communicating by a branch pipe through an opening in the
chimney breast at or near the ceiling, with a vertical pipe built in the wall
and terminating near the floor, either in an ash-pit under the grate, or at
some convenient point at the side of the stove grate; or the foul air may be
drawn off direct into the vertical pipe by a hole made in the chimney breast.
By this means the vitiated air from the top of the room will be carried
down the vertical pipe and conducted to the fire, or to some part where it
can enter the chimney.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edmund Alexander Spurr in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
ALEXANDER SPURR, of Newton Road, Bayswater, in the County of Middlesex,
Architect, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edmund Alexander Spurr, Her special license that I, the said Edmund
Alexander Spurr, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Edmund Alexander Spurr, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FIRE-PLACES, CHIMNIES, AND STOVE GRATES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Edmund Alexander Spurr, 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 I, the said Edmund Alexander Spurr, 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) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in Fire-places, Chimnies, and Stove-
Grates" has for its object to construct the lower parts of and the entrances or
openings into chimnies in such a manner that the draught of the flue may be
greatly improved, and the chimney prevented from smoking or emitting smoke.
into the room or chamber in which the fire-place is situated.
The mode in which I propose to effect this object will depend upon whether
my improvements are to be applied to the construction of a new fire-place and
chimney, or to be adapted to a fire-place and chimney of the old construction.
In constructing a new fire-place and chimney or flue, I first build the fire-place

page_text: for the reception of the stove grate, from eighteen inches to three feet in height,
according to circumstances, and then I throw an arch over through the whole
thickness of the wall, leaving a circular or other conveniently shaped opening
in the crown or top of the arch. Upon this I build in brickwork a funnel-
shaped pipe, that is, rather larger in diameter at the bottom than at the top;
or, under certain circumstances, this funnel may be made of iron, or, by
preference, of earthenware or pottery, in which case I build round this pipe in
brickwork, and in that way carry up the flue to the required height, placing
pipe upon pipe and building round them.
At the bottom of the flue or chimney, and immediately above the stove
grate, I place a register plate or valve of peculiar construction, and which
forms a most essential and important part of my Invention. This register
plate may be built into the chimney, and in some cases it may be found
desirable that it should be firmly stepped into the walls all round, and the
pipes that form the flue will be supported thereby; or it may be applied in the
same manner as the ordinary register, in which case the space between
the register plate and the lower part of the circular funnel or flue must be
made up with brickwork, leaving a circular opening the same size as that in
the-register plate. Instead of building this improved register plate into the
chimney at the bottom of the flue, it may be adapted to any ordinary stove
grate and existing flue, so as to form part thereof, the ordinary-moveable
register being in this case dispensed with. The connection between the
existing flue and the opening in the register plate will be made by means of a
pipe or funnel, constructed of metal, pottery, or in brickwork, of such forms
and dimensions as may be required.
The register plate has a large circular or other conveniently shaped opening
made at about its central part, and this opening is provided with a valve or
cover, which is adapted thereto in such a manner by lever catches, bolts, or
buttons, that it may be detached and entirely removed when the chimney
requires sweeping. In this valve or cover is also made an opening, also
provided with a cover, which is hinged thereto, so that it may be opened and
thrown back to allow the smoke and gases from the fire to pass through and
escape up the flue, and which when closed and fastened on the under side
forms an effectual barrier to the passage of smoke into the room caused by the
down draught through an unoccupied flue. I also construct pipes or flues in
the walls, ceilings, or floors of the room, and connect them with the smoke
flue in such a manner as to supply air to the room and the fire, and provide
for the escape of the used or vitiated air.
In order, however, that my improvements may be clearly understood, I

page_text: have shewn in the accompanying Drawing the mode of constructing chimnies
and fire-places with their accessories according to my Invention.
a, a,
Fig. 1 is a front elevation and partial sectional view of a fire-place con-
structed on the improved plan; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section or plan view of
the same; and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section through the fire-place
and chimney, shewing the chimney valve, and the mode of supporting the
cylindrical tubes of which the interior of the chimney is constructed.
(Figures 1 and 2) indicate the side walls on which the double arch b, b, (Fig. 1,)
is supported. In constructing this arch, a circular or other conveniently
shaped opening c (Fig. 3) is made for the purpose of forming a passage from
the fire-place to the flue or chimney. On the top of this arch is built up the
chimney breast d, to the height of about two feet, when the iron bearing plate e
is built in, as shewn in Fig. 3, and by dots also in Fig. 1. This bearing plate
has an opening made therein, corresponding with the vertical opening in the
chimney breast, and this opening is surrounded with a flange, on to which fits
the lower end of the cylindrical flue tubes f, f, which I prefer to have made of
earthenware or fire clay. These tubes are fitted one on the top of the other,
as shewn in Fig. 3, and are built into the wall. The fire grate g below
is placed in the recess provided for it, and the back and sides are lined
with fire bricks or tiles, as shewn at h, h, in the Figures, and the vacant
space between the fire bricks and the side walls a, a, and the arch b, b,
above, is filled up with brickwork, as shewn at i, i, in Fig. 2. The register
plate in this instance is not built into the wall, but is adapted to the bottom
of the fluc, as shewn in Fig. 3; but it may, if required, be let into the side
walls, and made to support some of the filling brickwork. In Figures 4, 5,
and 6 I have shewn three views of this register plate, detached, and drawn
upon an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the upper side of the plate,
shewing the circular plate j, and the chimney valve k therein; Fig. 5 is a view
of the under side of this fixed plate; and Fig. 6 is a sectional view, shewing
the way in which the chimney valve is adapted to the plate. I, 1, is the fixed
part that is secured to the brickwork; j, j, is the circular plate, which is
adapted to the circular opening in the fixed plate immediately below the
entrance to the flue. This plate j is secured in its place by the catch or lever m,
but it may be detached with facility when required by simply turning down
the lever m and lifting the plate off its seat. The smoke or chimney valve
is also circular, and is jointed or hinged to the back of the plate j, as shewn
in Figures 4 and 6. The valve is provided with a catch n to hold it in
position when it is desired to close the valve, as shewn in the Figures; but

page_text: when the valve is opened it is thrown back on its hinges, as indicated by dots
in Figures 3 and 6.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Fire-places,
Chimnies, and Stove Grates," and having explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I would observe that I am aware that tubular flues bave
been heretofore constructed of earthenware pipes, I do not therefore mean or
intend to claim the use of such pipes except when combined or arranged in
the manner herein set forth and described; but that which I consider to be
new in the above-described improvements, and therefore wish to claim as the
Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, is, the mode herein
described of constructing fire-places, chimnies, and stove grates. I claim
particularly the use of the brick arch, which is built the whole thickness of the
wall, thereby dispensing with the usual chimney bar, and improving the con-
struction and increasing the strength of the wall. I also claim the use of the
fixed plate with or without the chimney valve fitted to it, and also the con-
necting pipe or funnel of metal or brickwork between the opening in the
plate and the commencement of the flue. And I further claim the smoke-
tight chimney valve for the prevention of down draughts in an unoccupied
flue.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Alexander Spurr, have hereunto
hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
my
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
EDMUND ALEXANDER SPURR. (L.S.)
,66, Chancery Lane.