founded 1812 1812 founder william westley richards headquarters 130 pritchett street birmingham england united kingdom area served worldwide products double rifles bolt action rifles shotguns website westleyrichards.co.uk westley richards is a british manufacturer of guns and rifles and also a well established gunsmith . the company was founded in 1812 by william westley richards who was responsible for the early innovation of many rifles used in wars featuring the british army during the 1800s . it remained in the hands of the richards family until it was purchased by clode in 1957 . the company has received a number of royal warrants since 1840 . famous gun owners have included ernest hemingway maharaja of alwar and actor stewart granger . today westley richards is one of the oldest surviving traditional gun and rifle makers in england . in 2009 the company diversified into a number of other markets including country clothing . contents 1 history 2 notable guns 2.1 clients 3 clothing & accessories 4 royal honours 5 references history edit westley richards was first founded in birmingham england in 1812 by william westley richards at the age of 22 . his family background at the time had been in fine jewellery cutlery and the gun trade . early on in the company s history richards coined the motto to be the maker of as good a gun as can be made which is still used to this day . 1 william westley richards was an early gun innovator creating a number of gun related patents before his death in 1865 . the two most significant was the patent relating to the use of a new waterproof primer for the ignition of percussion guns and also the first flip up sight which went on to be used by the british army . citation needed following his establishment in the british gun market richards opened a gun store in london in 1815 on new bond street . the store was owned and managed by william bishop who was known as the bishop of bond street . 2 it was stated in a book published by mr. g. t. teasdale buckell in 1900 that bishop had served as a lieutenant . 3 westley richards cavalry carbine 1865 in 1865 control of the gunsmith company was inherited by westley richards who was the eldest son of the founder . richards carried on in a similar vein to his father innovating various guns and registering patents . in 1862 he was responsible for the innovation of the fastening system used on some rifles . 4 his innovations with rifles continued for the next decade creating the falling block rifle in 1868 and a solid drawn metallic cartridge case . 5 john deeley took over the commercial side of the company with the aim to expand the business from 1871 onwards . these expansions were mainly focused on south africa and india both of which were part of the british empire at the time . in the decades to come both these expansions proved to be vital to the company s global success . 6 deeley not only focused on the business aspects but also worked on innovations . his greatest achievement was likely to be the invention of the anson & deeley boxlock action which was revolutionary to gun making around the world . the cocking mechanism was first established in this shotgun . sporting guns today still use a similar method to release the barrel fall . following the establishment of the new type of shotgun mechanism the company s success in manufacturing both military and sporting weapons saw them move to a new base in 1894 . the gun factory in bournbrook was then established and designed by the architect charles bateman . 7 prior to the turn of the century leslie b. taylor took over the operations at westley richards & co. he was responsible for the ongoing improvement of the boxlock action 8 9 he was also responsible for the creation of the explora and faunetta shot and ball principal . during the next 50 years and two world wars the company survived and pressed their skills into the war efforts . following world war ii there was a decline in the manufacturing of weapons in general . the war efforts over the past decades had changed the organisation into a producer of military weapons but due to the end of the war the demand slowed dramatically . in 1957 walter clode purchased the company and was responsible for turning around the fortunes of the company . he purchased the company for 2000 and then invested a further 12000 in order to get it back on its feet . during this period he moved his focus to the united states . he restored many old weapons used in india before reselling them as vintage restorations at shows around the world including las vegas . 10 simon clode joined the company in 1987 . he became pivotal in re establishing the high quality products that had been previously associated with westley richards . in house manufacturing was a focus point of his and became a goal when he became managing director in 1994 . his father remained at company in some capacity until 2008 . in the same year the company moved to a new headquarters in birmingham england . the building was a former nineteenth centre enamelling factory . shortly after the company announced that it would be expanding its operations into the clothing market . 11 the reason behind the move was said to be down to the large close season for shooting in the united kingdom which traditionally runs from january through to august . by launching a clothing brand it allowed the company to capitalise on this slow period . 11 the initial success of the clothing line meant there were considerations to reopen a store in london . in 2012 the company celebrated its bicentenary publishing the book in pursuit of the best gun written by jeremy musson . 12 notable guns edit one of the most famous guns was created by john deeley in the late 1800s . deeley produced the first boxlock action shotgun which was a hammerless action of a type commonly used in double barreled shotguns dating back to roughly 1875 . the boxlock action uses concealed self cocking hammers in a break open action . it was strongly opposed by most sportsmen and manufacturers at first but became the dominant form of double barreled shotgun action . 13 14 the 12g westley richard droplock is one of the more famous guns produced by the gunsmith . one of the guns is said to be on display at the queen elizabeth s residence sandringham house . 15 clients edit during the 1920s maharaja of alwar was the owner of a number of westley richards rifles . 16 around the same period of time it was reported that maharaja bhupinder singh also possessed a number of westley richards rifles . it was reported by the the tribune that singh s rifle would be sold for an estimated 30 000 . 17 george eastman notably referred to his westley richards guns in his book chronicles of an african trip which was published in 1927 . stewart granger was also known to own westleys including a .577 rifle . it was said that he carried the rifle during the filming of king solomon s mines in 1950 . 18 ernest hemingway was said to be an owner of numerous westley richards guns and rifles . in march 2011 it was announced that one of hemingway s double rifles has been sold in auction for 295 000 . the double rifle was a .577 nitro express . 19 clothing & accessories edit from 2009 onwards the company began to focus on branded clothing as well as firearms . they focused on the hunting and shooting communities stating that professional shooters and social groups would benefit from another luxury clothing brand in this field . 11 the product range includes bags and suitcases . since the launch of the clothing and accessory lines it is said that clothing now accounts for 50 % of the company s turnover . 11 royal honours edit the company has a number of royal warrants dating back to their first in 1840 . prince albert was the issuer of the first warrant received by the company . other royal warrants were issued by queen victoria king edward vii and king george v. the company also received a royal warrant in persia from shah of persia and the royal family . the last of the warrants came in 1911 which was presented by king george v. citation needed references edit christian chris . the 50 best guns ever made . outdoor life . the bishop of bond street inconsolable for his dog . lyttelton times . november 5 1863 . p. 5 . g. t. teasdale buckell 1900 . experts on guns and shooting . unknown . mcintosh michael . simply brilliant westley richards & company . sporting class daily . shooting the westley richards 1869 .450 number 1 carbine sporting rifle . rathcoombe . jackson tony october 9 2007 . new era for gunmaker westley richards . shooting uk . dowling g ; giles b d. hayfield c selly oak past and present birmingham 1987 john henry walsh 1882 . the modern sportsman s gun and rifle . horace cox . pp. 183 189 . dave anderson feb 2002 . new weatherby firearms for 2001 . guns magazine . clode simon . walter a. clode at home and 85 today . managing director of westley richards 1957 1993 . the explora . a b c d smith philip february 23 2009 . gunmaker westley richards ready to break into designer country clothing . the telegraph . in pursuit of the best gun westley richards 1812 2012 . amazon . action boxlock . saami . daniel coit gilman ; harry thurston peck ; frank moore colby 1904 . the new international encyclop dia . dodd mead and company . p. 808 . 12g westley richard droplock . guncity . the maharaja of alwar s droplock ovundo double rifles . the explora . february 9 2015 . sood aman . maharaja bhupinder s shotguns up for auction . the tribune chandigarh . stewart granger and his .577 s . the explora . august 14 2013 . hemingway s double rifle brings 295 000 . dogs and doubles . march 14 2011 . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title westley richards & oldid 743908862 categories manufacturing companies established in 1812firearm manufacturers of the united kingdomextant firearms manufacturers in the united kingdommanufacturing companies based in 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