Christopher George Bonehill was born in 1831. Reportedly, he was descended from a family of farmers and manufacturing ironmongers. He was apprenticed from about 1844 to 1851 to a Mr Aston (possibly Richard or William Aston).
In 1851 he established his own firm, he was recorded in the 1851 census as a gun implement maker living at 14 George Street with his mother, brother and sisters. Within a very short period he was supplying much more than gun implements. No doubt he started with a few small orders, but he gained a contract for 25,000 Chassepot rifles from the French, supplied 2,000 Snider Cavalry rifles to the British Board of Ordnance, and completed many other contracts.
In about 1855 Christopher Bonehill married Mary, the 1881 census records only three sons but they appear to have had five. Five daughters were also recorded. Of the sons, Christopher Jnr was born in 1856 but was not recorded in the census, George W was born in 1865, Edmund A was born in 1877 and Byron was born in 1879. Reportedly the fifth son was A M Bonehill.
On 19 March 1869 C G Bonehill patented a bolt for locking a side hinged action, this was spring loaded and operated by the hammers (patent No 839).
In 1870 C G Bonehill was recorded at 33 Charlotte Street with a factory in Morville Street.
In 1873 he moved the whole business to the Belmont Firearms and Gun Barrel Works in Belmont Row. These premises had been occupied by the National Arms & Ammunition Company before they moved to Holford Mills. At about this time, military orders were declining and the firm started to move into the sporting gun market at home and abroad, particularly in the USA where the first machine-made military weapons with interchangeable parts were pioneered. The new factory was one of the first to be equipped with machinery.
C G Bonehill was a Guardian of the Birmingham Proof House. His son, Christopher, was working for the firm at this time as, presumably, was his other son, A M Bonehill.
On 6 October 1877 Patent No. 3718 covered a bolting system with top extension, rib and lumps. The guns produced on this design were named "Belmont Interchangeable" (A, B, C and D grades).
On 11 June 1878 Patent No. 2323 covered a combined tumbler and hammer.
On 12 May 1880 C G Bonehill and W J Matthews patented a cocking and barrel bolting mechanism and safety (patent No. 1952) This patent may also have included a type of stock.
Between about 1880 and 1887 the firm either had agents at 110 Cannon Street, London or they opened a London office at that address. Joseph Marres was recorded as an agent at 110 Cannon Street (reportedly gunpowder at that time and later a wadding agent but it would seem that he was also an agent for guns and gun parts). Marres may well have been the agent in England for Auguste Francotte. The firm of Auguste Francotte was recorded at 110 Cannon Street from 1877-1883, he may well have acted as their agent but, as the 110 Cannon Street address has been seen on several Bonehill guns, it is likely that he was an agent for C G Bonehill or that C G Bonehill had an office there between 1880 and 1887 (Edwin Burrows was recorded at 110 Cannon Street in 1878; Curtis & Harvey were there from 1912-1918).
On 31 May 1884 C G Bonehill patented a one-piece rib and lump (patent No. 8469), and a boxlock type of cocking and top lever bolting system and a fore-end fastener (patent No. 8471). On 19 September 1884 patent No. 12586 covered taken out jointly with A J Simpson covered improvements to bolting, cocking and safety catches.
At about this time Thomas Naughton worked for the firm, he left in 1887 to join Holloway & Co as manager.
On 29 May 1888 patent No.7823 covered trigger and hammer safety devices.
Many Bonehill shotguns were exported to the USA, so the firm experienced some difficulties when the McKinley Tariff was introduced in 1890. Surplus capacity was used in the production of rifles and airguns.
On 29 June 1895, patent No.12578 with A Tunstall covered a Martini action with a detachable barrel (this patent was subsequently used to make the Greener GP shotgun).
On 6 November 1905 patent No. 22658 covered a screw adjustable backsight. There may have been another patent for a .22 conversion, the firm converted surplus Martini-Henry rifles to .22 for the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs.
In the 1901 census Christopher Jnr was recorded as manager of a gun works, and had married Isabelle in about 1883. They had two sons, Christopher G born in 1884 and Osbert B born in 1887.
On 11 July 1907 patent No. 15917 with H Horner covered a barrel cocking mechanism for an air rifle, this was the basis for the firm's famous Britannia air rifle. On 23 June 1908 Bonehill and Horner filed ther second air rifle patent (No. 13567) for a fixed barrel mechanism with a pellet pusher.
C G Bonehill died in 1920, and reportedly A M Bonehill took over the business. It would appear that Christopher Jnr had died by this time. The Belmont Firearms Works were closed in 1921 and the firm moved to 4 Price Street.
On 6 October 1928 A M Bonehill and A Tunstall registered patent No. 323726 for an ejector or extractor, and on 23 January 1930 they registered another patent for a central firing mechanism and slotted spindle.
In 1939 the firm was sold to A Mawson, but A M Bonehill remained as manager.
The firm closed in 1962, no records survived.
The above was taken from the Internet Gun Club database.
You may also be interested in "The Birmingham Gun Trade" by David Williams.
On a more general note, Midlands Historical Data,
http://www.midlandshistoricaldata.org sells some cd's with interesting information. Much of it more general in nature, but it gives a good handle on the monetary value of the trade.
Pete
