Westley Richards
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Westley Richards is one of the oldest surviving traditional English gunmakers. It was founded in 1812 by William Westley Richards. Over the years invented some of the most widely used inventions, like the Anson and Deeley boxlock action and the Droplock which equals in status James Purdey's self opening and Holland & Holland's removable locks.
William Westley Richards set up his gunmaking business in 1812 to design and make guns that could not be bettered. It is nearly two centuries since Westley Richards was established in Birmingham. Today, it still thrives as a family-run business, occupying the purpose-built gunmaking factory built around the turn of this century. As one of the world's premier gunmakers, Westley Richards has always maintained strong ties with London. In 1814, William Westley Richards set up shop in Bond Street, with the well known character and sportsman, William Bishop as manager. He rapidly became known as 'The Bishop of Bond Street'. serving the firm for over fifty years and building an enviable reputation for Westley Richards guns and their service to sportsmen the world over. Among the most famous names associated with Westley Richards, are those of Anson and Deeley. John Deeley, managing director of the firm was granted his first patent in 1873, followed by more than thirty patents, Gold Medals and Royal Warrants during the next twenty five years. Together with William Anson, he invented the Anson & Deeley action, still the most successful and widely used mechanism throughout the world. In 1890, the managing directorship passed to Leslie B. Taylor who kept the firm to the forefront of the gunmaking world, both by sound management of the business and by adding no less than another forty eight patents, warrants and medals to the already impressive list. At the outbreak of World War I, Westley Richards was a profitable public company. Then all hands were turned to the war effort. Government orders for the conversion and rebarrelling of thousands of rifles put great pressure on the firm, and a huge investment in new machinery and staff was necessary. No other factory of similar size in the country held a comparable record for such fine work and high output. In peacetime, however, it became impossible to maintain the large workforce, and by the time of the Second World War the company was forced into voluntary liquidation, although it continued to trade.
In 1946 Captain E.D. Barclay bought the firm from the liquidators and subsidised the gunmaking business with profits made from whale harpoons and toolmaking. Even these efforts did not prove satisfactory and in 1957 he dis posed of his shareholding to Walter Clode who is currently Chairman of Westley Richards.
Excerpt taken from The History of Westley Richards [1]
The firm is still working today in Birmingham and its double rifles are very popular in the United States among safari hunters who cannot afford a James Purdey or a Holland & Holland Royal or those who simply prefer the distinctive lines of a Westley Richards.
