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Most mining historians interested in Bath and Cotswold stone quarries will know what a "Lewis bolt" or "three-pin Lewis" is. But does anyone know who Mr Lewis was and when the Lewis bolt was invented? Or is the name perhaps a corruption of something like a loose bolt? I have several books with diagrams of this device and explanations of how it is used, but I can not find the information requested above. Incidentally the reason for this question is that, while doing a guided tour around Woodchester Mansion, I was asked this by one of the visitors on my tour. If anyone wants to see a Lewis bolt in operation we have a cut-away section of Cotswold stone with a Lewis bolt to fit it at the Mansion; I demonstrate its use on each tour I do. Mansion details are in the web-sites below. By the way, this query is really very badly timed as today was our last Public Open Day for this year - we open again at Easter 2001. Roger http://www.wmtrust.free-online.co.uk/ << take a look at our old site http://web.ukonline.co.uk/mansionoffice << before our new site (currently under development) replaces it.