A few comments on another thread has me considering the plethora of gunmakers still active across the pond, Scotland and England to be precise. It is astounding to me that there are as many as there are, still in the business of making fine doubleguns in an era in which they are certainly not the gun of choice for most hunters/shooters. I think it is not arguable that there are many more autoloaders and pumps sold than doubles. Nevertheless, I have quickly thrown together a list of makers in England and Scotland, alone.
Please feel free to contribute any you know of that I missed, and also point out any that may no longer be in business. I am sure our neighbors "to our east" will have much more information concerning this than I.
A.A. Brown & Sons
Anderson Wheeler
Asprey
Atkin, Grant & Lang
Boss & Co.
Boxall & Edmiston
David McKay Brown
E.J. Churchill
Holland & Holland
Holloway & McNaughton
John Dickson & Sons
J. Roberts & Sons
John Wilkes
Longthorne Gunmakers
Purdey & Sons
Watson Bros.
William & Son
William Powell
Westley Richards
William Evans
There was also a gunmaker by the name of White that was in business a few years ago. I remember a forum member from New York that owned a fine restaurant that ordered and received a matched pair from them. He has not posted in some years, as I recall. Cannot remember his name.
SRH
Nye and Moncrief
Sorry,, I misread. THis is not a current maker.
Wayne Nish. Actually contacted me about a matched pair of Darne guns before he bought the Tony Whites.
Last I heard, his restaurant in NYC (Nish) was closed up and he was cooking in Japan, if I recall correctly. He was having an ugly life segment and moved on, I think. I wish him well, wherever he might be.
Best,
Ted
ELDERKIN & SON, I have a matched pair in 12 bore.
Best Regards, George
Couple of notes:
Holloway & Naughton (no Mc, just Naughton)
John Wilkes (think they are actually closed)
William Powell (are they still active?)
There are also a number of trade people that we know of:
Dig Hadoke
Toby Barclay
"gunman"
DDA
W.W. Greener for sure. Not sure if you should add Webley but why not.
James Crockart & Sons, Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland
http://www.jamescrockartandson.co.uk/newcrockart.html
Graham macKinlay, Glasgow.
An absolute gentleman.
http://www.gmackinlay.com/
John Wilkes - John and Tom Wilkes retired from the business in 2003. They have both now passed away. See
http://www.craigwhitseygunmakers.co.uk/html/john_wilkes.htmlAsprey - No longer produce guns. See
http://www.luxist.com/2008/05/22/last-shotguns-ever-made-by-asprey-fetch-over-100-000/Ray Ward - He has some special guns built for him by Purdey and sells them under his name. See
http://www.rayward.co.uk/rwguns.htmlTim
I work as a gunmaker in the UK.
Mark Mitchell
www.jfarquharson.com
Where are the new Webley's made?
Thanks, guys. Sorry for the typo on H & N, I knew better than that.
treb, thanks for the memory bump. My best wishes to Wayne. Hope he still has his Tony White guns. They were very nice, as I recall.
Interesting. Just amazing to me that there is still enough demand for high-end doubles that this many gunmakers can still "make it".
It's encouraging.
SRH
Graham Sinnerton
Wiseman & Sons
W W Greener
Lewis Potter
Graham Brown
KD Radcliffe and Son, Colchester,
Leech and Son, Boreham,
Gallyon, Cambridge
Rosson, Norwich
But I think I am getting into the realm of retailers of Birmingham guns with their names on, although they all have very competent gunsmiths on hand
An interesting musing.
Perhaps it would be more accurate and a little more enlightening to compose a list of gun makers who produced a gun in 2012 carrying their own name. Then list them in terms of:
Entirely made in the UK. (Westley Richards for example)
Entirely made outside the UK. (William Powell for example)
Partly made outside the UK and finished in the UK. (William Evans for example)
Of course, some makers would feature in more than one list (Purdey for example).
Just a thought.
Where are the new Webley's made?
Turkey
W&S
Rosson Norwich has long gone having sold out to Gallyons.
W. Richards (Liverpool) now at Pocklington, Yorkshire. He can still make guns under the Williams & Powell name and also under the Horsley of York name. A lot of British Gunmaker's names are still owned by someone who it entitled to make guns under that name so it is a difficult list to compile. Lagopus.....
Hence my suggestion of listing who actually made a named gun this year - to give an accurate indication of active gunmakers.
Ownership of a name is merely that. Horsley is not a gunmaker anymore, as far as I am aware, but Boxall & Edmiston are gunmakers, despite not being a previously established 'name'.
It is an affront to all ex Webley men that the name has been debased by putting it on Turkish made guns . Sorry for hi-jacking the thread ,moan over .
There are many published lists of names of gunmakers past and preset , but there is a diference between those that call themself's gun makers and those that actualy make guns or are activly involved in rebuildind and restoring them .To witt , Webley and Scott no longer make guns but they sell guns bearing their name ,so are they realy gunmakers ?
William and Son, on Mount Street in Mayfair, about 200 yards from Purdey's. (Note, William is William Asprey and they make best guns)
gunman, My thoughts ran on the same track as I was reading the linked article. I was so disgusted I couldn't finish it.
Its great to see that there is still a healthy number of gunmakers around. And I like Dig's idea about specifying if the makers actually build the guns themselves, have someone else build it, or finish others' guns and put their name on it. It seems that more and more makers in the UK are doing the later 2.
Like gunman & Krakow Kid, my teeth go on edge when I read about Webley & Scott's demise.
If you read the attached link on page two about Turkish W&S guns it doesn't tell you anything like the truth.
It seems that the West Midlands has spawned a breed of men that can buy a company for tuppence, rape it and sail off into the sunset.
It's very much the same as the Rover story.
Thankfully W&S is now owned by Highland Outdoors who does seem to be doing a decent job despite the guns being made in Turkey.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the moving of John Rigby to California several years ago, in light of the Turks now building W & S guns. How do our friends in G.B. feel about that now? I recall there being some resentment, or at least distaste, at the time.
SRH
The Gun Trade is a trade, like any other.
I personally lament the demise of what was but I'm very pleased there are still some talented and industrious people involved in traditional gunmaking in the UK. It is interesting and healthy to see new technology being used with the aim of producing traditional quality.
William Evans and William Powell, J Roberts and a of of others now sell models made largely on the Continent. Well, a hundred and thirty years ago people were moaning that some gunmakers sold guns made in Birmingham and were passing them off as 'London guns'.
As long as you know what you are looking at it just becomes an informed choice of what you consider good value for money.
Companies move production off shore because it makes economic sense to do so. The gun industry is certainly not unique in that sense.
Modern Turkish Webley guns do nothing for me, but perhaps they have a place. Times change. The Mini no longer looks like it did when I was a kid, and now it is owned by Germans.
Rigby was sold to overseas owners, who used the name to sell an inferior product from that on which the reputation was built. But it is their business, they can do what they like.
We just have to get used to looking at who is doing what NOW, never mind in the past. Manton used to be the best, now the name is a shell company doing nothing. David McKay Brown came from nowhere and is now established as a best gunmaker, William Powell used to make guns in Birmingham, now they badge imports.
Businesses change. We just need to keep an eye on these movements.
Dig, as someone involved in the wholesale trade of branded consumer products for my entire life, I couldn't have said it better.
Brand (makers) names are simply a shorthand for consumers. With time we come to expect a certain "something" (quality, value, crapiness, beauty, flavour etc) from a name branded product. Even if we haven't experienced it personally, the experience of others informs us. But it is only a substitute, a shorthand, for the actual qualities that may be associated with a particular product.
Of course, for the most part, it is almost impossible for the brand to maintain the actual qualities that gave it a good name over the very long haul. Thus, those who do are held in high regard and the rest fade away.
I believe that longthorne build their guns entirely in the uk. Including their own barrels machined from billet. I don't know much more about them but they have a website which may be worth a look. (don't know how to post links sorry)
Can't say I'm the 'new' webley's biggest fan but their 2000 sxs looks decent enough. one thing I do like about it is the Deeley and Edge fore end fastener . It looks nice, at least they're trying.
Maybe one day when this over and under 'fad' has passed, we may see some fine British gun makers appearing once more.
P.s. I don't dislike o/u guns. Just believe the old saying that...
'if god had meant for us to shoot them, he'd have made us all with one eye above the other ! '