AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ANCHORS
Year: 1822

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
SAMUEL FRANCIS SOMES, of Broad Street, Ratcliffe, in the County of
Middlesex, Ship Owner, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth
did, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of His United.
Kingdom, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of October,
in the third year of His reign, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel
Francis Somes, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, His especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Samuel Francis
Somes, my exors, admiors, and assigns, during the term of years therein
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
also in all His Majesty's colonies and plantations abroad, my Invention
of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ANCHORS," in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that if I, the said Samuel
Francis Somes, shall not particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing, under my hand and seal, and
cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the

page_text: said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties
and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, deter-
mine, and become void, as in and by the same (relation being thereunto
had) will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Samuel Francis Somes, do hereby declare, that the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are particularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and the following description thereof (that is to
say):
My improvement in the construction of anchors consists in having a
single fluke or palm so made to turn upon a bolt, pin, or axle as to
be capable of taking hold of the ground in any way the anchor may
happen to fall. And.in order more fully, to explain, the principle of my
said Invention I refer to the annexed Drawings. Fig. 1, is a frame
of iron for the fluke or palm to work in. A, A, are two sides; B, & C,
are stretcher pieces,. which may be rivetted or welded together, accord-
ing to the inclination of the manufacturer, at a, à; in the sides are
round holes to receive the bolt, pin, or axle of the fluke or palm; and
at b, b, are eyes or loops formed to receive the chains c, c, which are
connected to the ring d, to which the cable is to be made fast. Fig. 2,
represents a reverse view of the anchor, with the fluke- or.palm D, in
the holding position; the parts e, e, are intended to direct the fluke or
palm into the ground, and also to form a stop against the stretcher
piece C, to give the fluke or palm a proper angle for holding; the
dimensions of these parts may be longer or shorter, according to cir-
cumstances. Figs. 3, & 4, represent other forms of frame work
calculated to receive the fluke or palm, which may be varied according
to the skill and judgment of the manufacturer, as I do not confine
myself to any particular shape or construction of that part of the
anchor; but I prefer the shape and construction of the frame as
represented by Fig. 1, having proved it to be well adapted to receive
the fluke or palm, which is calculated for holding in the ground more
firmly than the common anchor, and without the possibility of foul-
ing the cable or injuring the ship's bottom in shallow water. My

page_text: Inrolled the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three.