Question for those who have handled a lot of English guns, and picking up on what Rocketman said.

Do those guns from houses that did their own finishing and assembly in house consistently have just a little more quality than those known for outsourcing the entire completed gun?

I am reminded of a scene from the movie "The Red Violin" where the owner was walking through his shop and smashed a violin in progress that he didn't think was up to his name's standards. Tough to do anything about it though should the completed gun arrive from the actual maker with your name on it and it is not up to your expectations or your customer's.