doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Who REALLY built most of the English guns.....

There are seemingly thousands of "makers" of English guns. At least their names are on them. But common sense tells me only a handful of makers supplied most of the arms. I recently found an interesting topic at the Internet Gun Club from 2004 that address' the subject:

http://www.internetgunclub.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?forum=48&topic=239

Seems to me this is a good "off season" topic to discuss.

One thing I'd like to see is a list of genuine makers in the 1890 to 1940 period. Let's exempt the barrel forgings but they had to make the actions.

Suggested genuine makers are:

Birmingham:

A.A. Brown & Son
Bentley and Playfair
Birmingham Small Arms (BSA)
Bonehill
Daniel Leonard
Edwin Anson
H. J. Hussey
Hollis
J P Clabrough
Midland
Peter Webley
W. & C. Scott
W.W. Greener
Webley & Scott
Westley Richards
Wilkes
William Baker
William Powell


London:

Boss
Churchill
Cogswell & Harrison
Henry Atkin
Joseph Lang
Purdey
Stephen Grant
Woodward


Scotland:

Dickson

Provincial:

Edwinson Green
Horsley of York
Williams & Powell

I know this list is very incomplete. Who else can we add? And provincial makers?

I'm adding to the list as qualified names are suggested. If you see someone on it that shouldn't be please let me know.

Mr. Joe,

W&C Scott built a bunch. According to my book on Scott, they produced 25,000 hammerguns between 1865 and 1880 alone!

Yes, W. & C. Scott built a lot of shotguns. What your book doesn't state is how many left the factory with someone elses name on it. Also, Scott would put any serial number on it the buyer requested. And they'd have it proofed at the location specified by the buyer....

Not today's news that guns with barrel addresses of builder's merchants and ironmongers (the "hardware store" guns of the British trade)weren't manufactured by the concern stamped into the barrel. I have one--12 bore boxlock stamped "W.& S. Davies, Brighton". I was advised that it could be the product of the later Webley and Scott.

jack

A lot more gun makers made their own guns in the period up to 1880 or so. After 1900 very few small makers found it cost effective to produce their own models from scratch and most 20th century guns are immediately recognisable as models supplied by the big trade firms like Webley, on a few basic templates. These could be finished to order by the supplier or provided in various states of finish, or 'in-the-white', allowing the smaller firm to finish the gun in the manner of their choosing

Absolutely... Known that for a long time. I actually look for Scott guns with little known names on them. For example, I have a R.S. Garden hammer double rifle in 577/500 that was built by Scott. Has their serial# on the bottom rib. This gun was half the price of a typical Holland of the same period, but of the same quality. (and maker)
I have a number of Scott shotguns that have other's names on them as well.

There was an article in S/S a couple of years ago concerning a firm in Birmingham that supplied guns to other makers, the name Brown tingles in my mind; could be some one else though. There must have been more though.

Jim

Gentlemens:

Many of the British single shot rifle actions were made in Belgium and delivered to the trade in varying degrees of finish. Were any of the doubles so made?

Glenn

To add to Joe Woods list I think we can add

James Carr
T. Wild
William Evans

Did William Evans actually build complete guns? I have heard that Scott built most of them.