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Lancaster Patents

The Lancaster family and their successor, Henry A A Thorn, were some of the most innovative gunmakers of their time.

Below is listed 36 of their known patents. This list is taken from British Gunmakers (Volumes One and Three), by the late Nigel Brown. So much is owed by the British Gun Trade to Nigel, who carried out arguably some of the most extensive research into the history of British gunmaking businesses, their owners and craftsmen.

The Patents

Date:
​03/07/1850

Patent No.:
​13161

​Class:
​199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

​​Oval bore rifling

Date:
16/01/1851

Patent No.:
​13454

​Class:
​199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Inter alia improvements for oval boring, driving bands for shells and exploding shells

Date:
07/01/1853

Patent No.:
47

​Class:
​199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Improved bullet mould

Date:
27/08/1853

Patent No.:
1988

​Class:
​199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Machinery for rolling barrels with oval boring

Date:
28/09/1854

Patent No.:
2089

​Class:
​199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Inter alia breech loading mechanism and base fire principle cartridge

Date:
16/09/1857

Patent No.:
2400

​Class:
​199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Improvement on his own Patent No. 2089 - 1854​

Date:
16/06/1858

Patent No.:
1361

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Table mounted cartridge loading machine

Date:
08/10/1858

Patent No.:
2243

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Design for copper/aluminium alloyed rifle barrels

Date:
05/12/1859

Patent No.:
2753

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Alfred Lancaster

Revolving breech block

Date:
05/12/1860

Patent No.:
2983

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Long range side mounted rifle sights

Date:
06/08/1864

Patent No.:
1960

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Steel faced projectile with wrought iron base

Date:
03/12/1864

Patent No.:
3015

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Fuse for projectiles ignited by air forced through small aperture

Date:
24/02/1865

Patent No.:
518

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Central fire cartridge with pinfire type pin to indicate when gun is loaded

Date:
05/04/1865

Patent No.:
969

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
​​Charles William Lancaster

Extractor for sliding breech block

Date:
03/06/1865

Patent No.:
1525

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Alfred Lancaster

Extractor for drop down barrels and retractable striker

Date:
16/01/1867

Patent No.:
112

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Charles William Lancaster

Extractor/ejector for cartridges

Date:
23/12/1867

Patent No.:
3642

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Charles William Lancaster

Oval boring for rifle barrels

Date:
15/02/1869

Patent No.:
462

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
Charles William Lancaster

Shot concentrator of paper or similar tube in cartridge closed at one or both ends

Date:
14/05/1869

Patent No.:
1479

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
Charles William Lancaster

Shot concentrator with charge partially enclosed in hollow cylindrical wad

Date:
08/03/1872

Patent No.:
718

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
Charles William Lancaster

Method of expanding projectile into rifling using rods and hard and soft metals

Date:
05/02/1878

Patent No.:
468

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
Charles William Lancaster

Soft metal driving bands for large projectiles which are tapered to receive them

Date:
05/03/1878

Patent No.:
869

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
E. Lancaster (administrator of Charles William Lancaster)

Improvement in shot concentrator, refers to his own Patent No. 1479 of 1869

Date:
05/02/1881

Patent No.:
499

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Barrel extension for cocking and automatic safety on drop down guns

Date:
21/03/1881

Patent No.:
1242

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Single trigger for two or four barrelled guns

Date:
16/01/1882

Patent No.:
213

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Split/double trigger for four barrelled guns, refers to his own Patent No. 1242 of 1881

Date:
30/06/1882

Patent No.:
3089

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Hinged/jointed external hammers for four barrel cape/shotguns or single hammer for o/u guns

Date:
11/01/1883

Patent No.:
161

​Class:
9 Ammunition

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Cartridge loading apparatus for crimping or corrugating mouths of cases

Date:
28/11/1887

Patent No.:
16343

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn (Charles Lancaster)

Stock mounted game counter

Date:
15/04/1890

Patent No.:
5688

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn (Charles Lancaster)

Adjustable try-gun

Date:
11/04/1894

Patent No.:
7242

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn & W F Wilkinson

Opening cocking drop down gun mechanism

Date:
01/12/1894

Patent No.:
23367

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn & W Bodin

Ejector mechanism for drop down guns

Date:
15/03/1895

Patent No.:
5517

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Single trigger for double drop down guns

Date:
26/03/1903

Patent No.:
7046

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn (Charles Lancaster)

Single trigger for double barrel guns, refers to his own Patent No. 5517 of 1895 and F Beesley's Patent No. 26749 of 1898 (single trigger for double barrel guns, improvements on two of Beesley's own previous patents)

Date:
14/05/1910

Patent No.:
12057

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Roll-over hammer type ejector mechanism for o/u guns

Date:
14/03/1911

Patent No.:
6413

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Lock plate attachment by spring clip instead of screw thread

Date:
unknown

Patent No.:
11369

​Class:
199 Small Arms

Patentee:
Henry A A Thorn

Means for cleaning breech loading rifles and firearms
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