History of Locks
British Patent 3453 dated 24 October 1873 by DR Ratcliff . Locks , Keys ; keyhole obstructing . – Relates to locks in which two keys are employed , one to raise the levers and shoot the bolt , and the other to close the keyhole of the former by means of a sliding plate , the object being to make the same set of tumblers serve both purposes .
from Hobbs . Milner created their own lock making department which was setup and run by Aubin , a skilled lock maker with many innovative design ideas . A version of his A1 Guardian was hurriedly produced incorporating Milner ’ s solid patents . Unfortunately Aubin died shortly after setting up the department , and lock development passed to the Boyce ’ s , Arthur & Benjamin , who now headed up the lock making department , this leading to what is now the Milner locks that everybody knows .
The footprint has largely stayed the same for each model although there has been many design tweaks , it ’ s interesting to follow the development , and sometimes it would seem to improve security , sometimes to accommodate better production or machining methods or even to satisfy particular features demanded by customers . Milner , from the very earliest days , serial numbered their locks which are an invaluable aid not just to dating but to understand their development . The Lock most often encountered , the ‘ B ’ lock for example can be found in a huge variety of variants and is fascinating to explore and try to understand differences .
Indeed this is a point that is worth stressing , particularly to the newcomers to this field , the new generation of locksmiths . Reading through some of the notes and drawings of Jack Taylor or Bill Stanton , both had made many improvements and patents , it ’ s apparent that these talented locksmiths of the day were successful in their fields because in both cases they collected examples of the locksmiths ingenuity of their predecessors , widely read trade documentation , patents specifications and the like . Ultimately this led to the acquisition of skills and a fundamental foundation of the craft , which in turn then led on to a solid and useful development of products that were an improvement on what went on before ; in much the same way as Hobbs did in 1851 . The same rationale can be applied to whatever field the modern day locksmith chooses ; safe , non-destructive , auto , GP , etc . etc .
Anyway , getting back to Milner ; a number of standard lock variants were produced to meet customer ’ s needs . The ‘ A ’ lock for instance where the key turned in the opposite direction to what was expected , confusing those who attempted to pick it . Already mentioned was the ‘ B ’ lock , it had end-gated levers with false notches and a barrel – quite formidable even today . Then there was the ‘ C ’ lock with an anti-pressure device , rather than false notches , for those that were more comfortable with that type of mechanism . Another lock was one that had a very large sweep of the levers which meant that the bolt stump could be placed in various positions ; a would-be attacker wouldn ’ t know where to drill . This lock was superseded by the triple stump lock that required three holes , precisely drill , and perhaps an over lift device active on all levers , to defeat it – this lock bought a lot of time . In addition to these were the various dual control locks in various configurations .
Milner prided themselves on being able to make specials to customers ’ requirements . One such lock was the Whitingham patent . This lock operated with two but different single bitted keys through the same keyhole providing a dual control function ; nothing unusual about that but a double bitted key was also produced that would operate as a kind of master key . It was essentially the two single bitted keys in one . This made the two custodians very uncomfortable if they knew that their boss could open the safe / vault without them being aware and no other witnesses being present ; in other words the safe could be accessed by a third person quite independently and without the custodians ’ knowledge . Perhaps this is why once this weakness was realised it wasn ’ t patented ; no patent has been found . But it did satisfy a particular client ’ s needs .
Aubin ’ s first lock for Milner ’ s combining his A1 Guardian and Milner ’ s ‘ Solid Patents ’.
Milner ’ s ‘ A ’ lock ; this version confused the unwary in that the operated the mechanism in the opposite way to that expected .
Milners Whitingham Dual control lock which also featured a master ’ s key .
Various other specials are sometimes alluded to such as special configurations for the Bank of England and other institutions that had a policy of triple control locks for safes and vaults ; Bill Stanton ’ s notes shows one such variation . The Patent Abridgements of 1873 shows another arrangement by Ratcliff , Millner ’ s general manager at the time .
Milner produced many locks for all sorts of applications other than safes ; many locks from their own showcases have come to light as well as more specials and variants . Watch for the next article in the Milner series …
Brian Morland , curator of the History of Locks Museum & Archive and the MLA Heritage Room , welcomes comments and feedback . Contact Curator @ emorlands . com
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