It’s no exaggeration to say that the history of locks goes back as far as recorded history itself. Evidence of the use of mechanical locks has been found by archaeologists in the ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh, dating back to the age of pharaohs 4,000 years ago.

This early Egyptian lock was made of wood, and worked on the same principle as the modern pin tumbler lock, a type which is still widely used to this day.

With this lock, the door would be secured with a large wooden crossbar with several holes in its surface, and wooden pegs would drop into the holes to prevent the crossbar being removed. To unlock the door, a key would be inserted which would push up the pegs, releasing the crossbar and allowing it to be taken out.

The Romans took the Egyptian lock and improved it, using metal instead of wood and creating more intricate mechanisms.

The next stage in the evolution of the lock came in China with the invention of the warded lock. This type of lock works by using a series of obstructions (known as wards) to prevent the lock from being opened without a corresponding key.

These basic concepts became the template from which locks were created for centuries, with mechanisms becoming ever more sophisticated and complex over time. The designs also became more elaborate and artistic, as keys became valued as ornate objects as well as having a functional application.

It was until the end of the 18th century that significant progress started to be made in the science of locks. In 1778 locksmith Robert Barren took a major leap forward when he invented a new pin tumbler lock with pins of different lengths, and six years later Joseph Brammah used this innovation to create a patented safety lock, which he claimed was unpickable. It would be 67 years before an American locksmith named Alfred Charles Hobbs proved him wrong.

It was around this time that another important figure in the history of locks emerged – Jeremiah Chubb, founder of the Chubb Locks company which is so familiar to us today. Chubb’s big invention was the detector lock, which was considered even more complex and unpickable than the safety lock. This lock was eventually picked 30 years after its introduction, and once again Alfred Charles Hobbs was the man who did it.

The late 19th century saw the introduction of the combination lock and the modern pin-tumbler lock. These were both pioneered by the Yale family, which would go on to create another of the household name lock manufacturing companies which still exist today.

The late 20th and early 21st centuries brought electronic locks, which offered an extraordinary range of new possibilities for security. Keycards, keypad passwords and fingerprint scans could all now be used as methods of gaining entry into a secured property. Some of these systems did not even require close contact with the lock itself, and could instead use remote locking systems such as those now used on many modern cars.

So where will the lock industry be in 20 years time? The development of near field communications technology is likely to make remote locking systems much more common in years to come, and who knows, maybe in the not too distant future we will all be using our mobile phones to lock and unlock our homes and vehicles.

Author Bio: Keytek Emergency Locksmiths know just about all there is to know about locks. They are a leading UK provider of 24 hour locksmiths and are the first choice for an emergency locksmith

Category: Home Management
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