Gun Quarter
Encyclopedia
The Gun Quarter is the name given to an area of the city of Birmingham
, in England
, traditionally (and still) associated with the manufacture
of firearm
s and sporting guns
such as shotgun
s and Double barreled shotguns. The area is to the north of the city centre, bounded by Steelhouse Lane, Shadwell Street and Loveday Street. In the 1960s, part of the Gun Quarter was demolished, and the area was split in two by the construction of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road. Following the Big City Plan of February 2008, the Gun Quarter is now a district within Birmingham City Centre
.
, approached manufacturers in the town in 1689 with the notion of supplying the British Government with small arms
. It was stressed that they would need to be of high enough calibre to equal the small arms that were imported from abroad. After a successful trial order in 1692, the Government placed its first contract. On 5 January 1693, the "Officers of Ordnance" chose five local firearms manufacturers to initially produce 200 "snaphance
musquet
s" per month over the period of one year, paying 17 shillings per musket, plus 3 shillings per hundredweight
for delivery to London
.
area, but fifty years later the trade had moved to the present-day Gun Quarter. Many of the gunsmiths also expanded to less cramped parts of the city - the Gun Quarter is a very small area, and early accounts describe many "higgledy piggledy" houses and factories with different gunshops and gunsmiths residing in close proximity to one another. A commemorative plaque in the Gun Quarter claims that around this time Birmingham was the "foremost arms producer in the world", the town's closest rival being London.
By the end of the 18th century the Gun Quarter had become a thriving gun manufacturing community. Government viewing rooms were opened in Bagot Street in 1798, employing sixty or seventy people to ensure that guns produced were of the necessary standard to provide for the British army. Military use, however, was accompanied by a major market in the Atlantic slave trade
. A 1788 Parliamentary report counted over 4,000 gun makers, with 100,000 guns a year going to slave traders.http://www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk/content/view/37/86/
required special efforts, and between 1804 and 1817 a total of 1,827,889 muskets, rifle
s, carbine
s, and pistol
s were manufactured for the Government alone. 3,037,644 barrels and 2,879,203 locks were made and then delivered to London for assembly, and around 1,000,000 items were also delivered to the East India Company
which fought alongside the British forces. It has been estimated that production of guns and components between 1804 and 1815 averaged more than three-quarters of a million items per annum, more than two-thirds of England's production during this period.
Birmingham Proof House
was built in 1813, then one of only two such proof houses in England, the other being in London. The building was managed by a consortium of the town's gun traders, its purpose being to ensure that the guns manufactured in the area were safe for use. It is still in use.
The number of firms in Birmingham's gun industry was 125 in 1815, 455 in 1829 (two-thirds of these in the Gun Quarter), and by 1868 there were 578 gun firms in the city. The trade employed 2,867 people in 1851, out of a total of 7,731 in the whole of England and Wales.
"Gun-makers" did not usually manufacture the parts for their guns or even assemble them: in keeping with the traditional nature of Birmingham's manufacturing industries
, parts were manufactured by independent specialist sub-contractors and assembled by "fabricators" or "setters-up", the "makers" commissioning and marketing the completed guns. In the late 18th and early 19th century, barrels were mainly manufactured outside the quarter (in Aston
, Deritend
, Smethwick
and West Bromwich
), and locks were mainly sourced from the Black Country
, but other parts were usually manufactured and assembled within the Quarter. In the late 19th century, Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/4/7/14472/14472-8.txt listed more than fifty specialist trades involved in gun manufacture, "till late years most of them being carried on under different roofs".
The Crimean War
brought much business to the gun makers of Birmingham, and from 1854 to 1864 more than 4,000,000 barrels were proved there. Most military gun stock
s were made from walnut
, whereas for the cheaper Africa
n market common beech
was used. During the Crimean War a large saw mill was erected in Turin
by a gun maker from the quarter, and nearly a third of a million gun stocks were produced from this source alone.
The Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association had supplied many of the guns during this period, and in 1861 fourteen of these gun smiths formed the Birmingham Small Arms Company
(BSA).
It is estimated that around 800,000 weapons were shipped from Birmingham to America
during the latter's Civil War
. One of the main suppliers was William Tranter
who supplied revolvers to the Confederate
forces. General Custer is known to have owned a Galand and Sommerville
.44 revolver
, which was faster to load than existing American pistols.
By the nineteenth century, the introduction of the percussion system combined with the adoption of modern production methods led to Birmingham becoming the dominant producer in British firearms.
A few London makers remained but Birmingham and Enfield produced the majority of firearms in Britain. During this time Birmingham made a variety of calibre weapons from high quality to the less elaborate.
In general, British weapons are well made, but less decorative than those produced on the continent, above all they earned a reputation for reliability and fine craftsmanship.
saw the Government once again approach Birmingham engineering companies with the prospect of arms manufacture, and within a matter of weeks Birmingham and the gun quarter witnessed much preparation for ammunition and gun manufacture. Many of the workers were women due to the enlistment of men into the armed forces.
In August 2011 a controversy was created when the Birmingham Council, in an unwelcome move, decided to change the name of the Gun Quarter. The Council had received a petition from a mere 50 residents from a local church group to change the name to St George and St Chad’s Quarter. The Birmingham Post reported on the row In response over 4500 signed a petition not to change the name.
Other English gunmakers include:
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, traditionally (and still) associated with the manufacture
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
of firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s and sporting guns
Combination gun
A combination gun is a break-action hunting firearm that comprises at least two barrels, a rifle barrel and a shotgun barrel, often but not always in an over and under configuration; side-by-side variations are known as cape guns. A ' refers to a combination gun that has three barrels...
such as shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
s and Double barreled shotguns. The area is to the north of the city centre, bounded by Steelhouse Lane, Shadwell Street and Loveday Street. In the 1960s, part of the Gun Quarter was demolished, and the area was split in two by the construction of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road. Following the Big City Plan of February 2008, the Gun Quarter is now a district within Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...
.
17th century
During the early to mid-17th century Birmingham's population numbered only several thousand, the town was home to many foundries and workshops that made a wide variety of metalware, including guns. Sir Richard Newdigate, one of the new, local Newdigate BaronetsNewdigate Baronets
The Newdigate Baronetcy, of Arbury, Warwickshire, was created on 24 July 1677 in the Baronetage of England for Richard Newdigate of Arbury Hall. It became extinct on the death of the 5th Baronet on 2 December 1806.-Baronets of Arbury :...
, approached manufacturers in the town in 1689 with the notion of supplying the British Government with small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
. It was stressed that they would need to be of high enough calibre to equal the small arms that were imported from abroad. After a successful trial order in 1692, the Government placed its first contract. On 5 January 1693, the "Officers of Ordnance" chose five local firearms manufacturers to initially produce 200 "snaphance
Snaphance
A Snaphance or Snaphaunce is a particular type of mechanism for firing a gun . The name is Dutch in origin but the mechanism can not be attributed to the Netherlands with certainty. It is the mechanical progression of the wheel-lock firing mechanism and the predecessor of the flintlock firing...
musquet
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s" per month over the period of one year, paying 17 shillings per musket, plus 3 shillings per hundredweight
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
for delivery to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
18th century
At the start of the 18th century, gun manufacture was concentrated in the DigbethDigbeth
Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into...
area, but fifty years later the trade had moved to the present-day Gun Quarter. Many of the gunsmiths also expanded to less cramped parts of the city - the Gun Quarter is a very small area, and early accounts describe many "higgledy piggledy" houses and factories with different gunshops and gunsmiths residing in close proximity to one another. A commemorative plaque in the Gun Quarter claims that around this time Birmingham was the "foremost arms producer in the world", the town's closest rival being London.
By the end of the 18th century the Gun Quarter had become a thriving gun manufacturing community. Government viewing rooms were opened in Bagot Street in 1798, employing sixty or seventy people to ensure that guns produced were of the necessary standard to provide for the British army. Military use, however, was accompanied by a major market in the Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
. A 1788 Parliamentary report counted over 4,000 gun makers, with 100,000 guns a year going to slave traders.http://www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk/content/view/37/86/
19th century
The British Government began to rely heavily upon the skilled gun manufacturers of the town. The Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
required special efforts, and between 1804 and 1817 a total of 1,827,889 muskets, rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s, carbine
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
s, and pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s were manufactured for the Government alone. 3,037,644 barrels and 2,879,203 locks were made and then delivered to London for assembly, and around 1,000,000 items were also delivered to the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
which fought alongside the British forces. It has been estimated that production of guns and components between 1804 and 1815 averaged more than three-quarters of a million items per annum, more than two-thirds of England's production during this period.
Birmingham Proof House
Birmingham Proof House
The Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House was established in 1813 by an act of Parliament at the request—and expense—of the then prosperous Birmingham Gun Trade. Its remit was to provide a testing and certification service for firearms in order to prove their quality of construction, particularly in...
was built in 1813, then one of only two such proof houses in England, the other being in London. The building was managed by a consortium of the town's gun traders, its purpose being to ensure that the guns manufactured in the area were safe for use. It is still in use.
The number of firms in Birmingham's gun industry was 125 in 1815, 455 in 1829 (two-thirds of these in the Gun Quarter), and by 1868 there were 578 gun firms in the city. The trade employed 2,867 people in 1851, out of a total of 7,731 in the whole of England and Wales.
"Gun-makers" did not usually manufacture the parts for their guns or even assemble them: in keeping with the traditional nature of Birmingham's manufacturing industries
Economy of Birmingham
The city of Birmingham, in England, is an important manufacturing and engineering centre, employing over 100,000 people in the industry and contributing billions to the national economy. During 2005, the West Midlands region as a whole created UK exports worth £15.2 billion, around 7.1% of the...
, parts were manufactured by independent specialist sub-contractors and assembled by "fabricators" or "setters-up", the "makers" commissioning and marketing the completed guns. In the late 18th and early 19th century, barrels were mainly manufactured outside the quarter (in Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, Deritend
Deritend
Deritend is an historic area of Birmingham, England, built around a crossing point of the River Rea. It is first mentioned in 1276. Today Deritend is usually considered to be part of Digbeth.-History:...
, Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
and West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
), and locks were mainly sourced from the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, but other parts were usually manufactured and assembled within the Quarter. In the late 19th century, Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/4/7/14472/14472-8.txt listed more than fifty specialist trades involved in gun manufacture, "till late years most of them being carried on under different roofs".
The Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
brought much business to the gun makers of Birmingham, and from 1854 to 1864 more than 4,000,000 barrels were proved there. Most military gun stock
Stock (firearm)
A stock, also known as a buttstock or shoulder stock, is a part of a rifle or other firearm, to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, that is held against one's shoulder when firing the gun. Stocks are also found on crossbows though a crossbow stock is more properly referred to as a...
s were made from walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
, whereas for the cheaper Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n market common beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
was used. During the Crimean War a large saw mill was erected in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
by a gun maker from the quarter, and nearly a third of a million gun stocks were produced from this source alone.
The Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association had supplied many of the guns during this period, and in 1861 fourteen of these gun smiths formed the Birmingham Small Arms Company
Birmingham Small Arms Company
This article is not about Gamo subsidiary BSA Guns Limited of Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B11 2PP or BSA Company or its successors....
(BSA).
It is estimated that around 800,000 weapons were shipped from Birmingham to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the latter's Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. One of the main suppliers was William Tranter
William Tranter
William Tranter was a British gunmaker and gun designer famous for inventing the Tranter Revolver.-His youth and early career:Born in Oldbury in Worcestershire, William Tranter was the eldest son of a blacksmith...
who supplied revolvers to the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forces. General Custer is known to have owned a Galand and Sommerville
Galand
Charles-François Galand was a French gunsmith who worked in Liege and Paris, France. He manufactured many revolvers for civilian and military use, including the Galand Revolver , the Tue Tue, and the tiny Le Novo...
.44 revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
, which was faster to load than existing American pistols.
By the nineteenth century, the introduction of the percussion system combined with the adoption of modern production methods led to Birmingham becoming the dominant producer in British firearms.
A few London makers remained but Birmingham and Enfield produced the majority of firearms in Britain. During this time Birmingham made a variety of calibre weapons from high quality to the less elaborate.
In general, British weapons are well made, but less decorative than those produced on the continent, above all they earned a reputation for reliability and fine craftsmanship.
20th century
The outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
saw the Government once again approach Birmingham engineering companies with the prospect of arms manufacture, and within a matter of weeks Birmingham and the gun quarter witnessed much preparation for ammunition and gun manufacture. Many of the workers were women due to the enlistment of men into the armed forces.
21st century
There are still several gun manufacturers and traders based in the Gun Quarter. Due to the UK's severely restrictive laws regarding gun ownership, including sporting arms, there is only a small commercial market for firearms in the United Kingdom; consequently, the majority of Birmingham's gun manufacture today is for the air gun sports trade, which first began in the city during the late 19th century.In August 2011 a controversy was created when the Birmingham Council, in an unwelcome move, decided to change the name of the Gun Quarter. The Council had received a petition from a mere 50 residents from a local church group to change the name to St George and St Chad’s Quarter. The Birmingham Post reported on the row In response over 4500 signed a petition not to change the name.
Gunmakers
Hundreds of gunmakers have existed in Birmingham, some of the better known examples include:- Joseph Bentley - shared patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s with Webley and ScottWebley and ScottWebley & Scott is an arms manufacturer based in Birmingham, England. Webley produced handguns and long guns from 1834 to 1979, when the company ceased to manufacture firearms and instead focused on producing air pistols and air rifles...
. - Thomas Bland & Sons - now trading the USA but still using Birmingham proof for quality assurance.
- Braendlin and Sommerville - eventually Galand and SommervilleGalandCharles-François Galand was a French gunsmith who worked in Liege and Paris, France. He manufactured many revolvers for civilian and military use, including the Galand Revolver , the Tue Tue, and the tiny Le Novo...
. - A A Brown & Sons - Founding member John Joseph Brown, learned his trade at Webley and Scott, Birmingham Small Arms and W. W. Greener, the company is still trading in 2007.
- Thomas ChambersThomas ChambersThomas Chambers was an English administrator and factor of the Honourable East India Company who served as the Agent of Madras from 1658 to 1661 or 1662.- Tenure as Agent of Madras :...
- originally of BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, manufactured in Birmingham from 1753 to 1757 at which point he moved to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - Farmer and Galton - supplied weaponry to the Company of Merchants in Africa.
- W. W. GreenerW. W. GreenerW.W. Greener is a sporting shotgun and rifle manufacturer from England. The company produced its first firearm in 1829 and is still in business, with a fifth generation Greener serving on its board of directors.-History:The history of W.W...
- Owned the large Prize Gun Works in Loveday street. - Thomas KetlandThomas KetlandThomas Ketland & Co. was a gun makers founded in Birmingham, England around 1760.The company made flintlock pistols and hand guns and became successful in this field of gun manufacture....
- established in the early 18th century and became one of the largest businesses in the gun quarter. - The KynochKynochKynoch was a manufacturer of ammunition, later incorporated into ICI but remaining as a brand name for sporting cartridges.-History:Kynoch was established in Witton in Birmingham in 1862 by Scottish entrepreneur George Kynoch when he opened a percussion cap factory in Witton. In 1895 he built an...
Gun Factory. - Parker HaleParker HaleParker Hale Ltd. was a United Kingdom firearms, air rifle and firearms accessory manufacturer, located in the Gun Quarter of the city of Birmingham, England. It was originally founded by Alfred Gray Parker and Arthur Hale. Parker-Hale Limited began manufacturing high quality precision shooting...
- closed down in 2000. - William Perry - established in 1778, manufactured brassBrassBrass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
and silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
guns, often marking them with a London tag. - Westley RichardsWestley RichardsWestley Richards is one of the oldest surviving traditional English gunmakers. It was founded in 1812 by William Westley Richards. Their inventions included the Anson & Deeley boxlock action and the Droplock, which equals in status James Purdey's self opening and Holland & Holland's removable...
- producers of the famous British Lee-Enfield rifles. - E. Roberts - specialised in walking stickWalking stickA walking stick is a device used by many people to facilitate balancing while walking.Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a crutch...
shotguns. - William TranterWilliam TranterWilliam Tranter was a British gunmaker and gun designer famous for inventing the Tranter Revolver.-His youth and early career:Born in Oldbury in Worcestershire, William Tranter was the eldest son of a blacksmith...
- founding partner in B.S.A.Birmingham Small Arms CompanyThis article is not about Gamo subsidiary BSA Guns Limited of Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B11 2PP or BSA Company or its successors....
. - Webley and ScottWebley and ScottWebley & Scott is an arms manufacturer based in Birmingham, England. Webley produced handguns and long guns from 1834 to 1979, when the company ceased to manufacture firearms and instead focused on producing air pistols and air rifles...
- revolver manufacturers.
Other English gunmakers include:
- James Purdey & Sons
- Holland and Holland
- Cogswell & Harrison (Harrison & Hussey)
- William Evans
- AJ Churchill
- James Woodward and Sons
- Holloway & Naughton
- Thomas Sylven