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Thread: Mersey Lock

  1. #21
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    Thanks, Tom, I suppose that they had to acknowledge the river that made Liverpool great! Any idea if the lock was patented?

    Thanks,Martin.

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sprockets View Post
    Thanks, Tom, I suppose that they had to acknowledge the river that made Liverpool great! Any idea if the lock was patented?

    Thanks,Martin.
    They named another lock Medway but I don’t think they patented anything because that would be a bit too easy for the Russians and Chinese to copy.

  3. #23
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    Thanks again, another M-----named lock, "Medway" of which I had not heard! Amazingly there is a church, St Peter and St Paul, at Aylesford, overlooking the Medway, which has inside an ancient monument dedicated to the local Milner family! Did they know about that at Liverpool?

    Was the Medway a precursor to the Mersea, or a simpler form? Are there any other locks in the "M"series! They escape mention in the "High-Security Mechanical Locks" tome!

    Many thanks,
    Martin

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Gordon View Post
    They named another lock Medway but I don’t think they patented anything because that would be a bit too easy for the Russians and Chinese to copy.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sprockets View Post
    Thanks again, another M-----named lock, "Medway" of which I had not heard! Amazingly there is a church, St Peter and St Paul, at Aylesford, overlooking the Medway, which has inside an ancient monument dedicated to the local Milner family! Did they know about that at Liverpool?

    Was the Medway a precursor to the Mersea, or a simpler form? Are there any other locks in the "M"series! They escape mention in the "High-Security Mechanical Locks" tome!

    Many thanks,
    Martin

    Hello again Martin, basically they used river names for the locks and counties/county town names for the majority of the doors.

    The Medway was a huge rim deadlock (over 10 kilos) with integrated glass/relocker locked by a single Manifoil, which could be fitted to different spec doors depending on risk and application.
    There was also a lower grade heavy rim deadlock called the Avon -key locking only, and most commonly locked by Bramah MDX series deadlocks. Avon’s had loads of integrated cobalarc protection but no glass.

    The range of doors started with the lightweight Cambridge for low risk applications, then the mid range Oxford and the Essex, which had independent dual locking Manifoils aimed mostly at overseas use like foreign Embassies.

    The very highest grade of all was simply ‘Grade 1A’ and not given a county or town name. These were bankers/treasury grade doors of similar design and construction to the free standing safes (of the same grade) -for visual comparison similar to a 4 inch branch bank strongroom door in appearance, ie; 4 inch protective slab + roughly 4 inch boltcase, so approx 7 1/2 or 8 inches thick overall. Grade 1As were available key or combo locking but only key locking was accepted for highest risks.

  5. #25
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    Country: UK

    Default Mersey Lock

    Thanks,Huw,

    Sorry about delay, but I have had diversions! It is a pity Chatwood did not use Welsh near-neigbouring counties like Denbighshire or Flintshire-that last summons up images of steely confidence! They had the cheek, too, of using the non-county moniker of "Merlin", rather than a local county name!

    Wishing you all the best that can be achieved during Herr Omicron's trampling over our festivities-perhaps it should be a movable feast for later!

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sprockets View Post
    Thanks,Huw,

    Sorry about delay, but I have had diversions! It is a pity Chatwood did not use Welsh near-neigbouring counties like Denbighshire or Flintshire-that last summons up images of steely confidence! They had the cheek, too, of using the non-county moniker of "Merlin", rather than a local county name!

    Wishing you all the best that can be achieved during Herr Omicron's trampling over our festivities-perhaps it should be a movable feast for later!
    I've always understood the word Merlin is simply a rearangement of Milner the original maker of the the lock before the company merged with Chatwood.

  7. #27
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    Country: UK

    Default Mersey makers ??

    Who made the mersey locks ? I know there are 10 lever and 14 lever versions, a plastic key version , but who made them ?? Willenhall ?? I thought Lowe and Fletcher did as well.

  8. #28
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    What was the story with the plastic and metal laminated keys, were they just early versions?

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Stephenson View Post
    What was the story with the plastic and metal laminated keys, were they just early versions?
    Hiya Gary that's pretty much it, the very first versions had the plastic bits injection molded on steel shafts and when they realised how bad an idea that was, they changed to all steel with the built-up laminated bits. After that they were cast one-piece and machined, still with a few different variations.

    From memory the initial idea was all down to a combination of cost and the fact plastics were still booming in the early 1970s so thinking was a cutting edge answer to production. As you know the external case covers and the curtains were also injected plastic so presumably easy for the same company to produce them all.

    I did government and ministry work for a long time and somewhere in storage I've got a folder of old 1970s typewritten papers which covered the ministry of works teams behind the development of the locks to the different types of security containers and safes.
    I recall there being a link between the Mersey lock and the primary/secondary boltwork design of the grade 1A safes and SRD's, think it might have been the same chap in MoW that designed them.

  10. #30
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    cheers Huw, I would be interested in seeing that info if you ever dig it out, do you know which company refurbed the Merseys? was it MD or someone else?
    Gary

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