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Birmingham's Industrial Heritage 1900â"2000

The History Press

Guns & Ammunition

GUN-MAKING IN BIRMINGHAM

The Birmingham gun trade began to emerge during the seventeenth century. As the firearm was perfected production ranged from the flintlock to muskets and pistols. Many new developments were made during the nineteenth century and these led to the creation of the breech-loading rifle and gun. Metal-working techniques had improved to such an extent that the technology was now available to produce the necessary component parts. Birmingham gunsmiths made rifles, shotguns and hand guns for warfare and sport. Ammunition was also provided by a number of firms. The Birmingham gun trade was principally located on the east side of the town in workshops situated around Weaman Street, Slaney Street, Steelhouse Lane, Princip Street and Price Street, and this area became known as the gun quarter. However, such is the nature of gun-making that many gun components were worked on by a number of outworkers whose home-based workshops were distributed around the town. While most gun-making workshops were often cluttered and small they were quite capable of producing a limited quantity of weapons, but could not meet the demands of the modern army. The conflicts, and colonial expansion, of the nineteenth century were to spawn the gun- and ammunition-making factory, where mass-production techniques were used to make weapons in far greater numbers.

Between 1860 and 1870 the Birmingham gun trade enjoyed a period of marked prosperity. In 1861 the Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd came into existence. It was made up of twenty firms who from 1854 had been selected by the Government to supply arms. In 1861 these companies decided to amalgamate to form the Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd, and from 1862 were based at a new site in Small Heath. This new factory was built on land beside the Warwick and Birmingham Canal and was established to make up to 600 muzzle-loading rifles per week. Among the up-to-date machinery installed were automatic machines that enabled larger quantities to be produced. In 1871 the Government adopted the Martini Henry rifle, which went into production during 1874, and BSA were fortunate in securing contracts for the manufacture of these rifles. In 1873 the Adderley Park Rolling Mills were acquired by BSA for the manufacture of ammunition shells. Following this development BSA changed their name to the Birmingham Small Arms & Metal Co. Ltd. The name reverted to the Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd in 1897 when the Adderley Park Mills were incorporated as a separate concern called the Birmingham Metals & Munitions Company Ltd.

In 1870 another group of people formed an arms manufacturing firm – the Arms & Ammunitions Co., but changed its name to the National Arms & Ammunition Co. Ltd in 1872. They possessed four works that specialised in different areas of arms manufacture. Arms were made at the Small Arms Works, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook, which had plant capable of producing up to 1,800 finished breech-loading rifles per week. Ammunition was made at the Holdford Mills and Belmont Row. A fourth site, the Peel Works in Macdonald Street, was involved with general work. However, requirements for arms and ammunitions are often variable and munitions-making firms frequently found it difficult to maintain production. The lack of demand for arms also affected the Birmingham Ammunition works, which had a factory at Ward End. These works closed before 1900. BSA were more fortunate and adapted their machinery to produce cycle parts. The National Arms & Ammunition Co. was forced to close its factories in the 1890s.

The gun quarter in Birmingham occupied an area that was bounded by Slaney Street, Princip Street, Lancaster Street and Steelhouse Lane. The lack of munitions orders, foreign competition and the falling off of the colonial gun trade led to the surviving gun-makers seeking new markets. They began to diversify and produce sporting guns and air rifles. The manufacture of sporting guns was a specialist trade where the hand-working expertise of accomplished gun-makers was prized, and the cost of the weapon was of secondary importance. Thus the skills of the manufacturers of hand-made guns were preserved and the gun quarter trade, methods and operation remained essentially untouched and unaffected by progress. Son and grandson followed father and grandfather in learning the trade of gun-making.

Some firms, such as Webley & Scott, handled most of the production in house, but gun factories such as this were in the minority. The process of gun-making was essentially a cooperative effort where one person carried out a specific task before the gun was passed to another for further work. The origins of Webley & Scott can be traced back to 1790, in Weaman Street, where William Davis, father-in-law to Philip Webley, made bullet shot. The modern firm incorporated the established gun-making firms of P. Webley & Son and W. & C. Scott & Son.

Other important gun manufacturers included Westley Richards whose factory was located at Grange Road, Bournbrook, and Bentley & Playfair who had a gun workshop in Summer Lane. The firm of Bentley & Playfair was a partnership of Thomas Bentley and Charles Playfair. Bentley was Birmingham born and was believed to be the son of John Bentley, a gun finisher. Charles Playfair, a Scotsman, who was some seven years younger, joined forces with Bentley in about 1845. They eventually established gun works at 56 Summer Lane, and transferred to larger premises at 315/16 Summer Lane in about 1860. The marriage of Charles Playfair to Bentley's eldest daughter Louisa cemented the business partnership at a time when the local gun trade was prospering. They employed a number of gun-makers and both amassed a considerable fortune through the trade. As Playfair's finances improved he found that he was able to afford more substantial accommodation. His moves from Cecil Street to Ryland Street, then Soho Hill and finally to Yardley reflected his changing fortunes.

By 1887 the British gun trade was in a depression caused by competition and declining demand. The industry was also affected by other factors, such as street improvement in the area around St Mary's Square which led to several outworkers' houses being demolished. Labour in the gun trade was frequently scarce, especially during the period leading up to 1914. At this time just a few aged workers represented the old type of gun-maker who could produce a gun throughout. The flourishing state of the cycle and then the motor industry attracted men away from the gun trade where their specialist skills were put to good use.

There were various branches of the sporting and military gun industry including stock, lock, barrel, furniture and odd makers. By 1908 there were still many firms making one or a few gun parts. Several trades have since disappeared including jiggers and barrel welders. Many of the gun parts were hand-made, but some bits involved machine work, for example, the barrels that required rolling, boring and grinding and the gunlocks that were forged. The making of stocks involved carpentry skill to fashion the walnut wood normally used.

During the twentieth century Birmingham's gun trade experienced gradual but sustained decline. Firms like BSA continued to diversify into other trades, particularly the automotive industry. In 1907 BSA absorbed the Eadie Manufacturing Co. (of Redditch, bicycle-makers) and in 1910 Daimler (carmakers).

BSA was at the heart of the Birmingham gun-making industry for 125 years. For most of this time they were at the forefront of the trade, producing the most up-to-date weapons of the time. During the First World War they produced Lewis guns at Armoury Road and during the Second World War Browning machine-guns were made. Bombing in 1940 and 1941 did a considerable amount of damage to the works, but the making of gun parts had already been distributed to a number of other factories. A new gun-making plant was opened for BSA at Shirley during the war. After 1945 the Shirley plant became the headquarters for BSA Guns Ltd. This factory made high-class air rifles, sporting guns and target rifles. Here the tradition of making the complete article from raw materials was continued.

An important part of the gun-making process was a barrel mill where solid bars of steel were machined into finished gun barrels. BSA mainly used Sheffield steel made by a works in the BSA Group. A special machine was used to drill the hole through the centre of the bar. Several further machine operations then followed to produce the perfect gun barrel. Spill-boring was followed by rifling, where tiny spiral grooves were cut along the bore of the barrel to impart spin to the bullet. One end of the barrel was prepared to take the cartridge. This was a process called 'chambering', involving the use of special recessing tools to cut out the chamber. The 'lapping' process removed any remaining rough edges. Here molten lead was poured down the barrel and allowed to cool into a cast. A high-speed machine then moved the cast up and down inside the barrel with a mixture of emery powder and oil. The barrel was checked several times during the operation for straightness. This was done by the barrel-setter. Each barrel was placed on a forked rest and pointed towards a window, which had a straight edge board at the top. This board cast a shadow in the barrel and by turning the barrel round the skilled setter could detect any deviation from the straight. He then corrected any irregularities by blows from a hammer. The skill was to know where to apply the hammer.

All gun barrels had to be 'proved' and from 1813 local barrel proofs were done at the Birmingham Proof House in Banbury Street. Barrels were taken here and test fired in the long room. A trail of powder was scattered along a line of barrels, which were fired by the means of percussion caps and exploded from outside the firing room. The operation produced a reverberating, rolling explosion that could be heard outside the premises. The percentage of tubes that failed was quite small, yet when they did it was in a spectacular fashion. Tubes would be twisted and torn into weird shapes. After firing, a definite time interval was allowed before anyone re-entered the room in case of misfire. Proofs of guns complete with their action were tested individually in smaller rooms. The weapon charged with its appropriate cartridge was fixed by a mechanical grip and fired from outside by a cord. After testing, the guns were viewed by experts who checked for flaws. Guns could be sent back to the manufacturer for this reason. Once the gun had passed the test it was marked with the distinctive 'proof mark' and once labelled the gun went out with the guarantee of the Birmingham Proof House and as a sound example of the gun-maker's art.

Gun-making was still carried out in Birmingham's gun quarter where long-established firms continued to fashion guns by traditional methods. Workshops were then still engaged in the sporting gun trade. One worker would make the action and another fashion the barrel. A third would engrave the action or barrel, while a fourth made the stock. Sometimes repair work would be done and after the war some firms converted Government rifles to sporting guns.

In 1953 Watson & Co. celebrated 230 years of gun-making in Whittall Street. Five years later, in 1958, the heart of the gun quarter was uprooted. Demolition began in Weamen Street, tearing out the heart of one of Birmingham's oldest trades to make way for improvements to the ring road. The remaining firms were dispersed around the town. Webley & Scott transferred their business to a new factory in Park Lane, Handsworth, while Phillips & Nephew moved to the flatted factory on the corner of Dartmouth Street and Richard Street. The upheaval was too much for some workers, who chose to leave the trade forever. It is remarkable that they had survived strong competition and wartime bombing only to be fazed by the intransigent force of bureaucracy. All appeared blind and deaf to concerns about the future of this industry once the dispersal was completed. These fears became a reality as the gun-making industry continued to decline.

Webley & Scott, who remained one of the few firms to make guns from start to finish, completed their move to Park Lane during the summer of 1959. Although they remained there for a number of years thereafter, they were forced to scale down their operations because of declining orders. Ultimately they moved their business to a factory at Frankley, where air rifles continued to be produced. The gun-making firm of W. & C. Scott was recreated in 1979 by a number of former Webley & Scott workers and commenced shotgun-making at Witton. This plant, in Brookvale Road, made high-quality sporting guns at a rate of about 150 per year. They were taken over by Holland & Holland, who closed the plant in 1991 and moved the work to London.

Further closures affected BSA and the group collapsed in 1973. The industrial conglomerate Manganese Bronze bought up parts of the organisation including BSA Guns. Production was concentrated at Armoury Road, where the factory included a 100-m rifle range. Gun enthusiast James Edminston purchased BSA Guns in 1985 and the bulk of the rifle and air-rifle production was sold abroad. Trade suffered badly during the 1980s and production of guns ceased after 1986.

Traces of the Birmingham gun trade can still be found in odd places around the town. They include Webley and Westley Richards. In Birmingham town centre a few gun-makers carry on traditional methods in Price Street, one of the few surviving parts of the old gun quarter. W. Palmer's factory and shop also still exist in Carrs Lane, the impressive frontage proudly declaring that it is part of the gun trade and also the date of the firm's inception, 1802.

THE AMMUNITION TRADE

The making of ammunition underwent various transformations during the nineteenth century. Gunpowder and ball were replaced by the percussion cap and cartridge. The percussion cap, which was principally invented by Alexander Forsythe, had been perfected by 1815 but was not generally adopted until 1839. In that year the British Government saw fit to replace the flintlock service gun with the type that was fired by percussion caps. The Birmingham ammunition trade increased considerably after the introduction of breech-loaded cartridges. Several firms became engaged in the production of solid drawn cartridge cases. The development and manufacture of the breech-loading rifle between 1870 and 1875 ensured that the fabrication of cartridges was to become an important local trade.

The name of Kynoch ranks highly among the firms that made ammunition. G. Kynoch began making caps in Birmingham in the 1860s, but transferred to Witton in the 1870s where the Lion Works were established.

The Kynoch Journal extract on p. 12 refers to the enlarged Kynoch site at Witton that comprised the Lion Works and Holford Mills. Holford was a long-established River Tame water mill, which had been taken over by the National Arms & Ammunition Co. to make ammunition. These works had fallen into disuse by 1888, but were restarted by the Gatling Gun Co. for a short time. After another period of closure Accles Ltd took over the property and recommenced the making of guns and ammunition. Bicycles and some early automobiles were also made here. Following the failure of Accles Ltd in 1901, Kynoch acquired the Holford Mills site. Kynoch's also had another ammunition-making plant at Mary Vale Road, Stirchley, beside the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. These works were established by 1901 but were only in use for a couple of years.

Kynoch's made both military and sporting cartridges. The various components were made in different plants distributed around the country. The gunpowder and cordite were brought to Witton to be filled into the cartridges. Military cartridges for rifles and guns were made of various brass alloys, which were rolled at the company's own mills and pressed into the required shape. The final process was the filling operation which was conducted in a range of sheds located away from the main buildings.

This group of buildings was often referred to as the loading field. Only authorised people had access to the loading field and special overshoes had to be worn by all who visited the site. The field was divided into two sections, sporting and military. The sporting ammunition comprised the paper-bound shot cartridges, while the military included all forms of ball ammunition. With sporting cartridges, loading was either done by hand or by automatic loading machine. When powdered the cartridges were taken to another shop to be wadded, rammed and shotted. Female workers were employed in both the sporting and military departments where manual dexterity was essential. A small army of women and girls were employed in making service-rifle ammunition. Open cartridges were made from brass alloys and firms like Kynoch's possessed rolling mills that produced metal strip for the cartridge components. They had an old mill in Water Street, Birmingham, which was superseded by a more modern plant at Hockley. From 1895 cartridges were loaded with a smokeless powder called cordite. This explosive was produced at another Kynoch factory and brought to Witton for loading into cartridges for the rifle ammunition. The Witton plant had cordite-loading machines that inserted the powder into the open case. Once this process was completed the cartridges were sealed.

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Excerpted from Birmingham's Industrial Heritage 1900â"2000 by Ray Shill. Copyright © 2013 Ray Shill. Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
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