Stan, the first of several William Richards gunsmiths went to work in the early 1800s. The possible father of this clan, a gunsmith, died in 1820, so it's quite possible that gunmaker predated Westley Richards [1812]. There were William Richards gunsmiths in London, Birmingham, as well as Liverpool. The quality of the W. Richards guns of Liverpool was on par with the Birmingham located Westley Richards as far as I have seen. There names were common ones, and I see no fraud intent. W Richards marked it's gun Liverpool, where they were made. I think Westley Richards marked their gun Birmingham and even London, although the guns were manufactured in Birmingham.
