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popular wisdom says william evans brand guns were made by others...

their box locks look like webley & scott made guns...

their side locks look like?

any opinions?

It is not "popular wisdom" it is a fact that their guns were made by others.

A good gun is a good gun. Your money will go farther buying the gun and not the name!

I was at Cyril Adams home 20 years ago and witnessed him value a magnificent matched pair of circa 1914 20 bore best quality William Evans sidelock ejectors with 28 inch barrels and long lop stocks (original). He valued them at $40,000.00 +.
They were of course made by Webley & Scott. Likely the only pair in existence.

The renown British gun author, gun historian and general authority on British guns, Douglas Tate has been quoted numerous times stating that "you buy the gun, not the name". However, it takes knowledge and experience to be able to know the difference, and the number that do are few, very few. A.A. Brown can and has built guns equal or better to a Purdey, and how many have even any knowledge of this gunmaking firm and its owner Robin Brown, much less be able to describe the difference of the form of a single bar action versus a double bar action.

Shotgunlover,,most English guns since the 1900 are A&D. Holland and Holland. Purdey. W W greener .greener wasnt widely copied.that takes care of engineering questions

I looked into the question of London gun makers possibly making A&D action guns pretty deeply as part of the Reilly line research. I queried several scholars including Donald Dallas, Douglas Tate and Vic Venters.

The conclusion was that no London gun maker except possibly one made the A&D boxlock actions themselves - none - they were all bought in the white from Birmingham which by 1878 was tooled up to produce them. The London gunmakers concentrated their resources on making side-locks and touting them as - well - more "interesting."