History of Locks
The Age of Enlightenment 1685 to 1815 Part 2
By Brian Morland
» IN THE FIRST PART OF THIS ARTICLE ( in May-Jun 2022 ) we talked about the grandfather of modern technology , Christopher Polhem and his lock , at the very beginnings of the industrial revolution . The world had to wait until the last quarter of the 18th century when , by now , the industrial revolution was in full swing for another talented inventor , this time from the UK , who raised the bar significantly with a ground breaking security principle and again inspiring lock makers everywhere ; he was a Yorkshire man and his name was Joseph Bramah .
Like Christopher Polhem , Joseph Bramah had a very inventive mind which he applied it to such wide ranging inventions as writing pens to serial numbering bank notes , from hydraulics to the flushing loo ; but here we are concerned with his lock invention .
But first a little of Bramah ’ s background ; born in 1749 , to Mary and Joseph Bramma Sr . ( note the original spelling ), he was the second of five siblings . He grew up in rural Stainborough , Yorkshire . From an early age he showed an aptitude in woodwork and metalwork forging his own tools . Around the late 1770s in his early 20s he left for London to seek his fortune ; a journey he elected to take on foot .
He very quickly found employment as a carpenter and within a few years set up in business on his own account . His first patent , dated 27th January 1778 , was for a water closet and his second five years later still relating to his first with an improved water valve .
Bramah Joined the Society of Arts in 1783 , some of the members already trying for the prize for a much improved lock ; this must have inspired Bramah to apply his genius to the problem . The resulting lock was ground breaking , it utilised sliders arranged vertically in a cylinder and remains much the same today such was its brilliance .
From Bramah ’ s mind came this concept drawing from which he developed the cylindrical mechanism that is the heart of the lock to this day .
No working model of his concept has ever been found either at the Society of Arts or anywhere else , therefor two fully working models were produced by the History of locks Museum early in the 21st century , one of which forms part of the Bramah display in the Heritage Room at MLA HQ . The model not only demonstrates Bramah ’ s concept it also very nicely demonstrates the double acting principle .
One consequence was that its manufacture required a great deal of precision and was therefore expensive . If it were to be affordable something had to be done ; and so Bramah set about , with Henry Maudsley a talented employee , conceiving and producing the machine tools to achieve the necessary accuracy , all this at a time when standard interchangeable component parts hadn ’ t been thought of .
One positive outcome of the cylindrical nature of Bramah ’ s lock is that it could be applied to something as small and delicate as a jewellery box right up to securing a safe or vault , all with the same secure mechanism and even offered suiting potential .
G W Brown & Co . Strap buckle with built in lock with 5 sliders .
Bramah traditional style padlock with an address of Old Bond Street .
Another lock by Brown , This time it ’ s a motor vehicle lock , note the drop key hole cover to stop the ingress of material from the early dirt roads .
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JAN / FEB 2023
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