What was here?
Two older factories joined together: a lamp-burner works of 1889 in Pritchett Street and a silversmiths’ works of 1906 on New Town Row. Westley Richards converted them in 2008 for gun and rifle making, with a test range.
History
Two factories
The firm’s own history of the site says it is made up of two buildings. No. 129 Pritchett Street was built in 1889 for Arthur Bellamy & Co., lamp-burner makers, who stayed until 1950. Nos. 111–119 New Town Row were built in 1906 for John Chatterley & Sons, silversmiths and electroplaters. Later occupants included a pram maker and, in 1970, the brake-lining firm Ferodo.
Back to the Gun Quarter
In 2008 Westley Richards left its Bournbrook factory after 114 years and moved here, “an arrow’s flight from the traditional Gun Quarter”, as the firm puts it. The conversion included a 50-metre range for testing and regulating rifles. When Grace’s Guide recorded the move, it noted that Westley Richards was “the only one of the famous historic Birmingham gun makers which still operates in this area”.
What happened here?
Lamp burners and silverware were made here from 1889 and 1906; since 2008 Westley Richards has made guns and rifles here.
Why it mattered
It keeps a living link between Birmingham’s historic gun trade and the streets where it grew up.
The same spot, then and now
1888–1913
Today
Old map: Ordnance Survey six-inch, reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland (CC BY 4.0). Today: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
What’s there now
What survives
The 1889 and 1906 factory buildings, converted.
Today
A working gunmaker’s premises on Pritchett Street, off New Town Row, north of the Inner Ring Road. Not open as a museum.
Sources and further reading
Building dates, occupants and the architect come from the firm’s own history and have not been checked against directories or planning records. The firm gives its address as 130 Pritchett Street. The map point is the street, not the building.
- Pritchett Street: Home of Westley Richards — Westley Richards & Co., Westley Richards (The Explora blog)
- Westley Richards and Co — Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, Grace’s Guide
Comments
Comments will load here.