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Organisation · 1812–

Westley Richards & Co.

Birmingham gun and rifle makers founded by William Westley Richards on the High Street in 1812. Sold through Bond Street, gunmakers to Prince Albert, at Bournbrook from 1894 and in Pritchett Street, by the old Gun Quarter, since 2008.

An engraved trade card with the royal arms above the words ‘Westley Richards, Gun Manufacturer to His Royal Highness Prince Albert, 170 New Bond Street, London’.
Unknown engraver, c.1840–60. British Museum via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

High Street and Bond Street

William Westley Richards set up in business at 82 High Street, Birmingham, in 1812. Like most Birmingham gunmakers he relied on the town’s specialist barrel makers, lock makers and finishers, but he aimed at the top of the market. His London agent, William Bishop of 170 New Bond Street, sold the guns to West End customers, and in 1826 the shooting writer Peter Hawker reported that some of the best sportsmen called Richards “Joe Manton the second”. In 1840 he became gunmaker to Prince Albert.

Patents and breech-loaders

A short wooden-stocked carbine photographed side-on against a white background.
Westley Richards’ cavalry carbine, 1865Made at Enfield to Westley Richards’ design, 1865. British Library via Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0

William Westley Richards took out six patents between 1821 and 1852, mostly for locks and percussion primers. His son Westley Richards (1814–1897) took out about twenty more, including the capping breech-loading carbine nicknamed the “monkey tail”, which was tried by the British cavalry and, the British Library notes, saw limited production and use. The firm became Westley Richards & Sons by the 1850s and a limited company in 1873, according to Grace’s Guide. After the younger Westley Richards retired, John Deeley managed the business.

Bournbrook and Pritchett Street

The Victoria County History notes that the firm ran “a highly integrated factory” when most of the trade still worked in small shops. In 1894 it opened a purpose-built factory in Grange Road, Bournbrook. It stayed there for 114 years, then in 2008 moved to converted factories in Pritchett Street, close to the old Gun Quarter. It still makes guns and rifles there.

Pictures

  • An engraved trophy of weapons, flags and armour around a column and pedestal inscribed with the names of Birmingham gun makers.
    ‘Gun Makers, Birmingham’, from Bisset’s Magnificent Directory, 1800Engraved by Reynolds of Birmingham for James Bisset, 1800. Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

On the map

4 places connected with Westley Richards & Co.. Tap a number for directions — some sites are private homes or gardens, so each place’s page says what you can see from the street.

11. Westley Richards, Pritchett Street — Surviving, Surviving but altered22. Westley Richards works, Grange Road, Bournbrook — Lost, Site redeveloped33. Westley Richards, 82 High Street — Lost44. The Gun Quarter — Partly surviving, Site redeveloped
Map © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Old map: Ordnance Survey six-inch, 1888–1913, reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland (CC BY 4.0). A dashed ring means the position is approximate; a shaded ring means only the general area is known.
  1. Westley Richards, Pritchett Street — Surviving, Surviving but altered · Directions to Westley Richards, Pritchett Street (opens Google Maps)
  2. Westley Richards works, Grange Road, Bournbrook — Lost, Site redeveloped · Directions to Westley Richards works, Grange Road, Bournbrook (opens Google Maps)
  3. Westley Richards, 82 High Street — Lost · Directions to Westley Richards, 82 High Street (opens Google Maps)
  4. The Gun Quarter — Partly surviving, Site redeveloped

Open on the full map →

Key dates

  1. 1812 — Westley Richards sets up as a gunmakerWilliam Westley Richards, about 22, goes into business at 82 High Street. Selling through a Bond Street agent, his firm becomes one of Birmingham’s best-known sporting gunmakers and is still working in the city today.
  2. 1894 — Westley Richards moves to BournbrookWestley Richards opens a purpose-built gun factory in Grange Road, Bournbrook, leaving the cramped workshops of the Gun Quarter. It stays for 114 years before returning to Pritchett Street, near the old quarter, in 2008.

The full timeline →

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Sources and further reading
  1. Westley Richards and Co — Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, Grace’s Guide
  2. Westley Richards (1814–1897) — Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, Grace’s Guide
  3. Instructions to Young Sportsmen in All that Relates to Guns and Shooting (4th edn) — Peter Hawker, Longman, London, 1826
  4. Titles of Patents of Invention, Chronologically Arranged (2 vols) — Bennet Woodcroft, Great Seal Patent Office, London, 1854
  5. Westley Richards’ cavalry carbine, 1865 (IOSM F994) — British Library, British Library, via Wikimedia Commons
  6. Economic and Social History: Industry and Trade, 1500–1880, in A History of the County of Warwick, vol. 7, pp. 81–139 — W. B. Stephens (ed.), Victoria County History, 1964
  7. Pritchett Street: Home of Westley Richards — Westley Richards & Co., Westley Richards (The Explora blog)

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