Gun Quarter

In the 1960s, a large part of the Gun Quarter was demolished by post-war town planners, with the area split in two by the construction of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road.

[3] During the early to mid-17th century Birmingham's population numbered only several thousand; the town was home to many foundries and workshops that made a wide variety of metalware, including guns.

A commemorative plaque in the Gun Quarter claims that around this time Birmingham was the "foremost arms producer in the world", the town's closest rival being London.

Government viewing rooms were opened in Bagot Street in 1798, employing sixty or seventy people to ensure that guns produced were of the necessary standard to provide for the British army.

The Napoleonic Wars required special efforts, and between 1804 and 1817 a total of 1,827,889 muskets, rifles, carbines, and pistols were manufactured for the Government alone.

General Custer is known to have owned a Galand and Sommerville .44 revolver, which was faster to load than existing American pistols.

By the nineteenth century, the introduction of the percussion system combined with the adoption of modern production methods led to Birmingham becoming the dominant producer in British firearms.

A few London makers remained, such as the government-owned Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield but Birmingham produced the majority of the firearms in Britain.

In general, British weapons were well made, but less decorative than those produced on the continent; above all they earned a reputation for reliability and fine craftsmanship.

The mass-produced, so-called 'ready made' guns began to flood the market in the 1880s; the number of Brummies employed by the trade fell from 5,500 in 1881 to 4,100 in 1911.

[6] In the 1960s, many of the traditional workshops of the Gun Quarter were demolished by post-war town planners, with the area split in two by the construction of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road.

[13] Hundreds of gunmakers have existed in Birmingham; some of the better-known examples include: During the eighteenth century, the Birmingham-based Farmer and Galton Gun Manufacturers produced thousands of firearms which were used by European merchants and African business people in the trade and capture of slaves.

Between 1742 and 1760, the firm manufactured the largest part of its output for export; the period immediately before Britain's Industrial Revolution.

[16] In the 1750s, they were the chief supplier of arms to the Committee of the Company of Merchants Trading in Africa, enabling the firm to grow rapidly, making it one of the biggest and most successful businesses in Birmingham.

The Bull pub still stands today; in the mid-19th century it was where gun workers were paid their wages
External view of a cocked 17th century snaphance lock on musket , a weapon Birmingham was selling to London.
St Mary's Chapel in Whittall Street was a focal point of the area. It was demolished in 1920s to make room for the expansion of the General Hospital in Steelhouse Lane.
Photograph of the now demolished St Mary's Row, viewed from Loveday Street. W W Greener , Prize Gun Works is on the right.
An 1868 Webley & Scott Revolver. Webley's revolvers became the official sidearms of the British Army in 1887
Grange Road, Bournbrook with the works of Westley Richards and Co. Ltd