The Wolverhampton Gunlock Makers
© C. V. Clark 2004
(Last
Revision January 2009)
This site was published with the aim of detailing the author's ongoing research into the obscure history of those who carried on the trade of gunlock (or gun lock) making in Wolverhampton. Historically, this trade has to a large extent been overlooked or ambiguously recorded and there is a scarcity of documented evidence specific to the trade. However, from many sources, including church records, civil registration documents, censuses, etcetera, and in collaboration with the descendants of gunlock makers, it has been possible to establish not only the genealogy of many of the Wolverhampton gunlock-making families but also their involvement and associations with the trade.
Although the author had originally made available online the full version under the sub-heading 'A Sketch History from Within the Trade' (February 2004), now only the abridged two-page version is accessible. However, the author can be contacted specifically about the following families' involvement with the Wolverhampton gunlock trade and their genealogy:- [St] Aubin, Bassett, Brazier, Brittain, Chilton, Dodd, Daly, Grainger, Homer, Law, Mansfield, Rigby, Stanton, Stilliard.
The only click-linked page available is an explanation and simple animation of How Gunlocks Work
The
author can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions or for any purpose
outside his control for which this work and the information it contains might be
used.
Inquiries
or points of interest concerning the Wolverhampton gunlock-making families
can be emailed to:
Wolverhampton-glms(at)fsmail.net
Note: Please use conventional @ symbol
when typing the email address
********
Gunlock-Making
in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton, now a city within the English West Midlands, has always been involved with metal-working industries. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the town's proximity to the extensive coal, iron ore and limestone underground deposits, Wolverhampton saw a considerable increase in artisan trades working in iron and steel. All kinds of tools, implements and fittings were produced for an ever-increasing diversity of markets. A contemporaneous expansion of nearby Birmingham and its established gun trade led to a need for gun part manufacturers, upon which the skilled metal-workers quickly seized.
An integral part of any gun is the mechanism by which it is
fired, and is referred
to as the lock (as in the old saying 'Lock, stock and barrel'). Within a
relatively short period and mainly through their growing reputation for
quality work, the Wolverhampton gunlock makers ensured that the prestigious
London gunmakers became principal patrons of their trade. By the mid-nineteenth
century many London-made guns were being furnished with locks from
Wolverhampton.
It is not known who the first gunlock maker was to set up in Wolverhampton, and it is unlikely that they would have been engaged solely in gunlock-making; the trade not then being as specialised as it would become. Around 1660 John Perry was known as a gunsmith in nearby Bilston, a chapelry of Wolverhampton. Of some significance are the suggested associations between the Perry family and several Wolverhampton families later involved with gunlock-making.
Gunlocks were being produced in
Wolverhampton before the beginning of the eighteenth century, although there is
very little documented history of the town's small businesses prior to the last
quarter of that century. The neighbouring villages of Coseley and Ettingshall
had various types of lock making industry. In that area Edward Brassman and
Joseph Bullock were recorded around 1760 as carrying on their trade as gunlock filers. The parish
records of both All Saints and the later Roman Catholic St George's churches of
adjoining Sedgley contain the surnames of many of the families who would become known as gunlock makers of Wolverhampton: Perry, Newton, Homer, Brazier,
Stanton, Law, Grainger. Of those, Thomas Newton was shown in the 1780
Birmingham Directory as carrying on his trade of gunlock maker in St John's
Square, Wolverhampton.
The gunlocks produced up until the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century
were flintlocks for fowling pieces (shotguns), muskets and pistols. A lucrative
source of income would have been government contract work for military weapons
such as the famous 'Brown Bess' musket. A new best quality London
double-barrelled flintlock shotgun would then have been priced in the region of
£45, the pair of locks for which costing about £4. Flintlocks continued in
production throughout the 1800s, long after the invention and adoption of the
percussion cap during the 1820s.
The gunlock trade was comprised
mainly of businesses having just one or
two tradesmen. Eventually the larger gunlock businesses had an owner/master gunlock maker, skilled in all aspects of his trade.
The employees were generally
divided into specific sub-trades: forgers, filers, pin (screw) makers and spring
makers. Some were engaged as outworkers in their own small workshops, and a few
undertook the manufacture of a variety of gun components such as sights,
trigger-guards, butt-plates etcetera. The work was
labour-intensive, with the smiths working at forging hearths, benches, vices and
foot-treadle lathes. The hammer, chisel and file were his principal hand-tools,
with simple dies, jigs and implements made in-house specifically for particular
operations. The assembling, spring making, hardening and tempering and
regulating/finishing required the considerable skill acquired through an
apprenticeship which would last seven or more years. The trade continued on the
common practice of employing family members; usually a father apprenticing his
son either to himself or a relative, with the accepted presumption that the
family business would be passed down through successive generations.
With
motive power in the form of steam engines driving overhead take-off shafts and
the increasing availability of machine tools, the preliminary 'roughing'
procedures became more mechanised, particularly the forging of bar steel into
rough components. Progress in the steel-making industry led to improved quality
control of materials. Better and more closely controlled grades of steel led to
greater reliability in gunlocks through the components being more durable and
the tools with which they were made being more efficient. The transition from
muzzle-loading to breech-loading guns after 1860 saw the gunlock industry of
Wolverhampton take on the production of breech-loading actions and expand
accordingly. Then the trade had become as large and specialised as it would ever
be, with the companies of Joseph Brazier & Sons, John Stanton & Co and Edwin Chilton
& Son recognised as the finest gunlock makers in the world.
The last
decade of the nineteenth century saw the development of new metal-working and
engineering industries catering for mass-markets. Bicycle manufacturing and then
the automotive trade became the town's large employers. Because the wages were
better with such companies as Sunbeam and Clyno, many skilled men left the gunlock trade in search of a
higher standard of living. From around 1900 until WWI
it became increasingly difficult to attract young men into gunlock-making
apprenticeships, particularly when the trade began to be regarded as not only
underpaid but declining. Although both WWI and WWII saw the remaining gunlock
companies involved once again in government contract work, there was to be no
long-lasting renaissance for the trade.
The
quality of the best gunlocks made throughout the second half of the nineteenth
century has been equalled but never surpassed. Sub-contracted production
drop-forging and electric motor-driven precision machines running
high-speed-steel and tungsten-carbide tooling progressively reduced the time
taken for roughing out, but the hand fitting and finishing were always essential
operations.
By the
late 1950s, although the three most famous
Wolverhampton gunlock-making companies were still in existence in the town, the families whose names they bore played
no part in them. Within twenty years the trade was reduced to two companies.
Another twenty years saw just one company remaining in the Wolverhampton area
which could offer a production facility for gunlocks.
********
A List of Names Involved with the Wolverhampton Gun Trade
© C.V. Clark 2004
(Last Revision January 2009)
Please Note:
The following alphabetical list is only a general guide. The approximate period date only refers to that time where there is some evidence to support it. It does not imply that the individual was only working during that period. Likewise, the addresses given may not be the only ones where that person worked/lived during their working lifetime. Where a person founded a company, that company may have continued after the founder’s death, either as an ongoing family business or not. For reasons of privacy etc., the list only covers those who are deceased.
There is a source of confusion that the reader should be aware of: Some gunlock-making families had more than one relative with the same forename. In the absence of descriptive genealogies (intentionally omitted), misunderstandings and incorrect conclusions may arise where there are multiple same-named individuals in the same working period or not. A most pertinent example of this occurs several times in the Brazier family; just two illustrations of which are the three individual Benjamins being father, son and great-nephew, and the four individual James', being uncle, nephew and two great-nephews.
The person may have had more than one trade during their lifetime; where that is known the other trade (or trades) is given. Some trades were carried on in conjunction with others, often of completely dissimilar nature.
Much of Wolverhampton has changed over the years. Therefore places that went under a particular name may now have another name or even not exist, eg: what was the location of St Paul’s church is now a car park off the St John’s ring road.
The author cannot accept any responsibility for errors or omissions.
|
Surname/Forename |
Trade* |
Approximate
Period |
Locations |
|
Adey Solomon |
GLM |
1871 |
71 Zoar St |
|
Allcock Charles |
GLM |
1877 - 1939 |
Employed by |
|
Allmark Thomas |
GLM |
1851 |
Ablow St |
|
Aston Noah |
GLS |
1802 |
37-38 Bilston Rd |
|
[St] Aubin Charles |
GLM & LS |
1838 - 1869 |
Pountney St & |
|
[St] Aubin William Henry |
GLM & GAM |
1865 |
Wolverhampton |
|
Barnett James |
App GLF |
1861 |
Bradmore |
|
Barnett
William J.
|
GLS |
1861 |
Zoar St
|
|
Barrett
James |
GLS |
1901 |
Owen
Rd |
|
Basset James |
GLF |
1880 |
Compton St |
|
Basset John |
[Gun]Screwmaker |
1861 |
39 Peel St
|
|
Bassett Henry F. |
GSM, |
1861 - 1921 |
82 Ash St & 248 Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Bassett Sidney |
GLM |
1901 |
39 Oak St |
|
Bassett
Stanley H. |
GLS |
1901 |
39
Merridale St West |
|
Bassett Thomas |
LS,
GLS & GLM |
1861 - 1901 |
39 Peel St & Oak Road & 39 Oak St |
|
Bassett William John |
GLS |
1873 |
Pool St |
|
Beddows Alfred |
GLF |
1891 |
2 Gough St |
|
Beddows William |
GLM |
1851 - 1861 |
Merridale St & Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Bellingham Richard |
GLS |
1871 |
29 Zoar St |
|
Bennett
James |
GLF & GLM |
1871 - 1875 |
3,
Zoar St & Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Blanton Charles S. |
Lic Vic &
GS |
1881 |
‘Wheatsheaf Inn’, Gt Brickklin St |
|
Blanton Henry Edward |
GS, GLS &
Lic Vic |
1871 - 1880 |
37 Russell St & Lewis St & |
|
Bowen David |
GLM |
1840 |
Gough's Buildings |
|
Bolton
William |
GLF |
1861 |
Russell
St |
|
Booth
John |
GLM |
1727 |
Bilston
|
|
Bradney James |
GS |
1861 - 1871 |
Bradmore |
|
Bradney John |
GLS |
1854 |
Lewis St |
|
Bradney Joseph |
GLM |
1861 |
15 Union Mill St |
|
Brasier James |
GLM |
1815 - 1845 |
St John’s Square |
|
Brassman
Edward |
GLF |
c1760 |
Bilston
(Ettingshall) |
|
Brazier Benjamin |
GLM & GM |
1787 - 1832 |
Ettingshall & 9 Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Brazier Benjamin |
Lic Vic,
GLM &
GS |
1861 - 1881 |
31 Noakes Buildings & |
|
Brazier Benjamin |
GM |
1833 - 1839 |
Cock St & (latterly) London |
|
Brazier Charles |
GLM |
1865 - 1893 |
Merridale St & Victoria Rd & Bradmore |
|
Brazier Donald B. |
GLM & Cycle
Maker |
1861 - 1931 |
22 Temple St & Raglan St & |
|
Brazier Edwin |
GLM |
1841
|
Tanhouse Lane
& |
|
Brazier Frederick |
GLM |
1858 - 1871 |
Pountney St & Pool St & |
|
Brazier George |
GLS & GLM |
1861 - 1921 |
Townwell Fold & Oak St & |
|
Brazier James |
GLM &
Maltster |
1826 - 1864 |
‘King’s Head’, Bell St & |
|
Brazier James |
GLM |
1845 - 1862 |
Market St & Graisley Hill & |
|
Brazier John |
GLM, GAF &
Lic Vic |
1861 - 1884 |
Townwell Fold & Pool St & Paul St |
|
Brazier Joseph Sidney |
GLM |
1887 - 1908 |
Strode Rd |
|
Brazier Joseph |
GLM, GIM, GAM
& GM |
1811 – 1864 |
Gt Brickkiln St (later at ‘Ashes’) |
|
Brazier Joseph |
GLM |
1858 - 1879 |
North Rd & Ash St |
|
Brazier Joseph |
GLM |
1861 - 1901 |
Townwell Fold & Oak St & |
|
Brazier Mrs Eleanor |
GLM |
1862 - 1880 |
22 Temple St |
|
Brazier Mrs Elizabeth |
Lic Vic &
GLM |
1857 -1872 |
‘Yew Tree’, Pool St |
|
Brazier Mrs Helena |
Owner |
1866 -187? |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Brazier Richard |
GLM, GAM |
1841 - 1864 |
‘Ivy House’, Tettenhall & |
|
Brazier Sarah? |
GLS |
1841 |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Brazier Thomas |
Lic Vic GLM
& GM |
1805 - 1857 |
‘Seven Houses’, Dudley Rd & Pountney St &
Bloomsbury St.... |
|
Brazier Thomas |
GLM & GS |
1838 - 1881 |
Gt Brickkiln St & |
|
Brazier Thomas |
GLM |
1838 - 1871 |
Tanhouse Lane & |
|
Brazier William |
GLM & |
1851 - 1874 |
Graisley Hill & Pountney Pool & |
|
Brewster Edwin |
GLS |
1871 |
46 Pearson St |
|
Brewster William |
GSM |
1861 |
Oak St |
|
Bristow Joseph |
GLS |
1871 |
72 Zoar St |
|
Brittain Bernard |
GLF |
1861 |
Oak St |
|
Brittain James |
GLM & GLF |
1859 - 1861 |
Graisley Row & Oak St |
|
Brittain Samuel |
GLS, GLF &
GLM |
1841 - 1851 |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St & |
|
Brittain
Thomas
|
GLF |
1861 |
Zoar St |
|
Broadbent
Charles |
GLS |
1861 |
Dale St |
|
Bullock
James |
GLS |
1861 |
Gt
Brickkiln St |
|
Bullock John Thomas |
GLM |
? - 1925 |
Employed by |
|
Bullock
Joseph |
GLF |
c1760 |
Bilston
(Ettingshall) |
|
Bullock
Leonard |
GLM |
1901 |
166
Merridale St West |
|
Butler George |
GL Forger &
GLM |
1853 – 1865 |
Philip St? & Dale St |
|
Cartwright Isaac |
GLS
& GLF |
1861 - 1879 |
Pool St & Pearson St |
|
Challinor Thomas |
GLF |
1861 |
Townwell Fold |
|
Chilton Edwin |
GLM |
1872 - 1924 |
Lowe St & |
|
Chilton William Bradshaw |
GLM |
1901 - 1964 |
41 Newhampton Rd West & |
|
Choles James |
GLS |
1861 |
24 Waterloo St |
|
Churm John |
GLS |
1901 |
5 King Edward's Row |
|
Cliff Henry |
GLF |
1870 - 1879 |
Graisley St & Yew St |
|
Collins Thomas |
GSM |
1861 |
Oak St |
|
Cooper
George |
GLS |
1861 |
Melbourne St
|
|
Cotterhill Joseph |
GLM |
1839 |
? |
|
Cotterhill William |
GS |
1861 |
‘Prince of Wales’, Russell St? |
|
Cresswell Benjamin |
GLM |
1793 - 1802 |
Wolverhampton |
|
Daly William
|
GLF & GLM |
1861
- c1900 |
|
|
Daly William Bernard |
GLF & GLM |
1891
- c1935 |
2 Perry St & |
|
Daly Frederick Raymond |
GLF & GLM |
|
|
|
Daly Arthur
Valentine |
GLF & GLM |
|
|
|
Dangerfield Edward |
GLM |
1856 |
Bradmore |
|
Dangerfield Noah |
GLS |
1861 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Devey Thomas |
Military GLM |
1861 |
Oak St |
|
Dodd George |
GLF |
1901 |
30 Zoar St & 12 Bond St |
|
Dodd Henry |
GLF & GLS |
1861 - 1881 |
Oak St & Gt Brickkiln St & |
|
Dodd William Henry |
GLS |
1884 - 1886 |
Zoar St |
|
Drew Joseph |
GLF |
1861 |
Russell St |
|
Dudley Thomas |
GLF & GLM |
1841 - 1864 |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St & |
|
Dudwell Edward |
GLS & GLM |
1871 - 1882 |
'Fox Inn' & 28 Zoar St |
|
Dudwell William Henry |
GLM |
1916 - 1962 |
Employed by J. Stanton & Co Ltd |
|
Duncombe George |
GL Forger |
1901 |
86 Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Edge John |
GLS |
1861 |
3 Compton St |
|
Edge Thomas |
LS & GLS |
1861 - 1871 |
3 Compton St |
|
Evans William |
GLM |
1855 |
Finchfield, Compton |
|
Fellows Henry |
GLF & GLS |
1853 - 1861 |
Pool St & 25 Lewis St |
|
Ferrett Francis |
GLF |
1861 |
23 Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Fisher Benjamin |
GLF |
1851 |
Zoar St |
|
Fisher Henry
|
GLS |
1861 |
|
|
Fletcher Joseph |
GLS |
1871 |
Upper Vauxhall |
|
Fletcher William |
GLM |
1861 |
26 Salop St |
|
Fossbrook Peter |
GLS |
1865 |
Dale St |
|
German Richard |
App GLF |
1861 |
Oak St |
|
Gibbons Edward |
GLS |
1861 |
Brazier's Buildings, Little Brickkiln St |
|
Gill James |
GLF |
1861 |
Oak St |
|
Golcher Emmanuel |
GLS |
1802 |
Bilston Rd |
|
Grainger James |
GLM |
1841 - 1869 |
Pountney St & Merridale St & |
|
Grainger James |
GS & GLM |
1861 - 1874 |
6 Clifton St & |
|
Grainger John |
GLS |
1841 - 1881 |
Brickkiln St & 57 Herbert Street |
|
Grainger John Jnr |
GL Forger |
1861 - 1901 |
57 Herbert St & 63 Lord St |
|
Grainger Joseph |
GLF & GLM |
1835 - 1841 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Grainger Thomas |
GLF |
1851 - 1854 |
Brickkiln St |
|
Grainger Joseph |
GLM? |
1871 |
Molineux Fold |
|
Gregory James G. |
GLS |
1861 |
Townwell Fold |
|
Griffin Richard C. |
GLF |
1861 |
Russell St |
|
Griffiths Giddeon |
GLF |
1846 |
Zoar St |
|
Groom Richard |
|
1849 |
Gt Berry St |
|
Groves Joseph |
GLM |
1874 |
Court 7, Walsall St |
|
Gutteridge Joseph |
GLM |
1841 - 1851 |
Merridale St |
|
Hassett H. |
GSM |
1929 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Hawkins Henry |
GLF |
1841 |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Hayes Henry? |
GLM & GIM |
1920 - 1922 |
Hayes & Co, 59 Queen St |
|
Hemmingsley [Hemingsley] George |
GLF & GLM |
1860 - 1861 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Hemmingsley [Hemingsley] John |
GLF & GLM |
1861 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Hickin Thomas |
Gun Filer? |
1866 |
Merridale St |
|
Hill Josiah |
GLF |
1851 - 186 |
Merridale St & 23 Clifton St |
|
Hipwood George |
GLM |
18 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Hodgkins Charles |
GLM |
1871 - 1881 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Holden John |
App GLF |
1861 |
Bradmore |
|
Holland Thomas |
GLF |
1861 |
Cannock Rd |
|
Homer James |
GLM |
1851 |
Bloomsbury St |
|
Homer Kemsey |
GLS |
1802 - 1829 |
64 Berry St & 30 Stafford St & |
|
Homer Richard |
GLM |
1838 - 1861 |
Bell St & Bloomsbury St & Pool St |
|
Hughes Edward |
GLS |
1861 |
'Pheasant', Zoar St |
|
Hughes George |
GLF |
1861 |
27 Bloomsbury St |
|
Hughes John |
GLF |
1861 |
Philip St |
|
Instone [Inston] John |
GLS & GLF |
1861 - 1881 |
10 Clarendon St |
|
Jackson Reuben |
Gun Stocker |
1863 |
Bilston St |
|
James John |
GLF |
1901 |
86 Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Jessup George |
GLM |
1871 |
Dale St |
|
Jones Allen |
GLS |
1861 |
Dale St |
|
Jones Alfred |
GLS |
1881 |
16 Raglan St |
|
Jones Henry |
GLS |
1861 - 1881 |
Gt Brickkiln St & Graisley St & |
|
Jones John |
GLS & GLM |
1861 - 1865 |
23 Noakes Buildings |
|
Jones Joseph |
GIM, GLM &
Powder Flask Maker |
1839 - 1858 |
102 Salop St |
|
Jones Richard |
GLM & GM |
1865 - 1871 |
66 Zoar St |
|
Law Alfred |
GIM, GBM, GAF
& GM |
1871 - 1881 |
Merridale St & Ash St & Lord St & Chapel Ash |
|
Law John |
Lic Vic & LS |
1818 |
‘Star & Garter’, Cock St |
|
Law John |
GLM |
1827 - 1861 |
Bell St & Temple St & |
|
Law John ? |
GIM & GLM |
1861 - 1869 |
Oak St & 46 Snowhill |
|
Law Joseph |
GIM & GAM |
1861 - 1921 |
Oak St & 6 Little Brickkiln St |
|
Law Peter |
GIM & GS |
1851 - 1881 |
Merridale St & 72 Ash St |
|
Law Richard |
GIM & GS |
1851 - 1861 |
Merridale St & Oak St |
|
Law Stephen |
GSM & GAM |
1861 - 1869 |
Oak St & 44 Darlington St & |
|
Law Thomas |
GLM |
1841 - 1881 |
Woolley's Buildings ( Darlington St) & Salop Row & Gt Brickkiln St & |
|
Law Thomas |
GLM |
1881 |
Clarence Place, Clarence St |
|
Lawson Richard |
GLS & GLF |
1880 - 1885 |
Court 1, Merridale St & Zoar St |
|
Leonard Patrick |
GLM |
1861 |
Littles Lane |
|
Ling Richard Snr |
GLS |
1871 |
73 Zoar St |
|
Ling Richard Jnr |
GLS |
1871 |
73 Zoar St |
|
Littleward Robert |
App GLS |
1861 |
60 Pearson St |
|
Lockley Edmund |
App GLM |
1861 |
65 Pearson St |
|
Lockley Harry |
GLF |
1901 |
24 Sweetman St |
|
Lockley William |
GLS |
1871 |
63 Zoar St |
|
Mansfield Samuel B. |
GLM & GS |
1899 - 1930 |
44 Waterloo Rd & |
|
Mansfield William |
GLM & GAM |
1880 - 1901 |
111 Lord St West & Oak St & |
|
Mantle Edward |
GLF & GLS |
1861 - 1877 |
'Spin Cottage' (St Paul's) |
|
Marrias John |
GSM |
1862 |
Merridale St |
|
Martin Aaron |
GLF |
1861 |
Dale St |
|
Mason John |
GS |
1793 - 1802 |
St John’s Square |
|
Matthews
Francis B. |
GLF |
1901 |
82
Rayleigh Rd |
|
Matthews
George F. |
GLF |
1901 |
82
Rayleigh Rd |
|
Matthews
William M. |
GLF |
1901 |
82
Rayleigh Rd |
|
McLaw [M'Cleur] Charles |
GLS |
1861 |
Ash St |
|
Miles Joshua |
GLS |
1861 |
Clifton St |
|
Mills
Herbert |
GLS |
1897(Death) |
Herbert
St |
|
Moore John |
Manager of |
1861 - 1871 |
'Ashes', Great Brickkiln St |
|
Moore John Richard |
GLM |
1880 - 1894 |
Gt Brickkiln St & |
|
Morris John |
GLM |
1851 - 1881 |
Graisley St & Oak St & 4 Elm St |
|
Morris Thomas |
GLM |
1861 |
Oak St |
|
Moseley [Mosely] Joseph
|
App
GLS |
1861 |
Mary Ann St
|
|
Moseley [Mosely] James |
GLS |
1866 |
Dale St |
|
Mountford John |
App GLM |
1839 |
App to Joseph Cotterill |
|
Munn Ernest |
GLF |
1901 |
Walpole St |
|
Munn George |
GLF |
1901 |
Walpole St |
|
Munn Joseph |
GLM |
1861 |
Court 3, Melbourne St |
|
Munn William |
GLM |
1861 - 1901 |
Court 3, Melbourne St & Walpole St |
|
Newton
John |
GLM |
1841 |
Catchem's
Corner, Bilston (Ettingshall) |
|
Newton Thomas Snr |
GLM |
1780 - 1841 |
St John’s Square & Catchem's
Corner, Bilston (Ettingshall) |
|
Newton
Thomas Jnr |
GLM |
1841 |
Catchem's
Corner, Bilston (Ettingshall) |
|
Parker
John |
GLM |
1871 |
79
Zoar St |
|
Parker
Henry |
LS |
1871 |
79
Zoar St |
|
Parker
Richard |
GLM |
1871 |
79
Zoar St |
|
Parsons Joseph |
GLS & GLM |
1851 - 1861 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Partridge David |
App GLM |
1861 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Perry George |
GLF |
1841 |
‘Ashes’, |
|
Perry
John |
GS |
c1660 |
Bilston
|
|
Perry
Thomas |
GLM |
1834 |
Catchem's
Corner, Bilston (Ettingshall) |
|
Perry William |
App GLM |
1841 |
Pountney St |
|
Pinckston Peter |
GS |
1702 |
Wolverhampton |
|
Poole William |
GLF |
1861 |
North Rd |
|
Powell? Charles |
GLM |
1851 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Povey Thomas |
GLF |
1871 - 1875 |
Merry Hill (Penn) & Brickkiln St |
|
Radcliffe George |
GLF |
1861 |
Clarence St |
|
Richards Meshack |
GLS |
1861 |
Old Mill St |
|
Rigby Daniel |
GLF |
1867 - 1871 |
Bradmore & Baker St & Dale St |
|
Rigby John |
GLM |
1860 - 1892 |
Bradmore |
|
Rigby Thomas |
GLM & AM |
1860 - 1880 |
Bradmore |
|
Russell John |
GBM |
1805 - 1811 |
Horseleyfield Square |
|
Short John |
GLS |
1861 |
65 Merridale St |
|
Skipwood John |
GLM |
1871 |
Ash St |
|
Smith Elijah |
GLS |
1863 |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Smith Francis |
GLS & GLF |
1861 - 1881 |
18 Bloomsbury St & 32 Clifton St |
|
Smith Frederick |
GLS |
1861 |
18 Bloomsbury St |
|
Smith George |
GS |
1851 |
Salop St & 26 Middle Vauxhall |
|
Smith William Thomas Charles |
GLM & GS |
1926 - 1978 |
Employed by |
|
Spinke John |
GLS |
1802 |
1 Garden Houses, Stafford St |
|
Stanton Bernard |
GLM, GAM, GIM
& GM |
1869 - 1930 |
13 and 30, Clifton St & |
|
Stanton Frederick Richard Hall |
Proprietor of |
1925 - 1954 |
41 & 89, Merridale Rd |
|
Stanton George |
GLF |
1874 |
15 Dudley Rd |
|
Stanton John |
GLM, GAM, GIM
& GM |
1841 - 1871 |
113 Tower St & |
|
Stanton
John Bernard |
GLM |
1901 |
17
Merridale Rd |
|
Stanton John Charles |
App Engraver |
1881 |
13 and 30, Clifton St |
|
Stiles Frederick |
GS & GLM |
1841 |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Stilliard Charles |
GIM |
1871 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Stilliard Cornelius |
GIM |
1851 |
Merridale St |
|
Stillyard [Steelyard] Frederick |
GLS |
1851 - 1861 |
Salop St |
|
Stilliard George |
GIM, GLF &
GAF |
1871 - 1881 |
Gt Brickkiln St & Zoar St & |
|
Stilliard Martin |
GLM & GLF |
1861 - 1871 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Styche [Stych] John |
App GLM |
1841 - 1891 |
Catchem's
Corner, Bilston (Ettingshall) |
|
Taylor Jeremiah |
GLF |
1861 |
Cobden St |
|
Terry George |
GLS |
1861 - 1881 |
Dale St & Zoar St & 5 Elm St |
|
Terry Samuel |
GLM |
1875 |
Wadhams Hill |
|
Thomas John |
GLF |
1865 |
Russell St |
|
Thomas William |
GLS |
1861 |
Russell St |
|
Tibbetts William |
GLF |
1868 - 1877 |
Back of ‘Cross Guns’, |
|
Tonks Eli |
GLF |
1861 |
Zoar St |
|
Tonks Thomas |
Military GLF |
1861 |
Zoar St |
|
Tuckley Joseph |
|
1901 - 1962 |
65 Zoar St & Employed by |
|
Turner William |
GLM |
1874 |
Mill St, Ettingshall |
|
Underhill Richard |
GLM |
1735 |
Coseley |
|
Waddams John |
GLM |
1851 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Wadhams William |
|
1851 |
Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Wakeman
Frederick |
GLF |
1901 |
45
Merridale St |
|
Wakeman Joseph |
GLM & GLF |
1881 - 1901 |
45 Merridale St |
|
Wallin A. Robert |
GLM |
1964 - 1976 |
Employed by |
|
Walls
Edwin H. |
GLF |
1901 |
83
Owen Rd |
|
Walls
Edwin H. |
GLF |
1901 |
83
Owen Rd |
|
Warren
William |
GLM |
1871 |
23
Russell St |
|
Watkin Reginald |
GS |
1901 |
17 Gibbs St |
|
Wesley John |
GLS |
1871 |
20 Zoar St |
|
Weston John |
GLS |
1861 |
42 [Royal Exchange] Waterloo St |
|
Weston Joseph |
GLF |
1861 |
Dale St |
|
Whitehouse George |
GLF |
1863 |
Wharf St |
|
Whitehouse Jesse |
GLM |
1861 |
Grove St (St John's) |
|
Whitehouse John |
GLF |
1863 |
Wharf St |
|
Whitehouse Samuel |
GLF |
1865 |
Graisley Green |
|
Whitehouse Sarah |
GLM |
1861 |
Grove St (St John's) |
|
Whittingham John |
GLM |
1861 - 1901 |
10 Paul St & 2 Russell St |
|
Wilkes John |
GLS |
1846 |
Merridale St |
|
Wilkins John |
GLS |
1861 |
Commercial Rd |
|
Wilkinson William |
GLS |
1861 |
35 Graisley St |
|
Wilson John |
GLS |
1845 - 1861 |
Graisley St & Ashland St & |
|
Wilson Thomas |
Powder Flask
Maker |
1841 |
‘Ashes’, Gt Brickkiln St |
|
Wood John |
GLM & GM |
1840 - 1850 |
Darlington St |
* Trade Abbreviations:
LS = Locksmith = Generally, a maker of locks other than gunlocks, e.g.: mortice locks.
GL Forger = A person who forges iron/steel bar into roughly shaped gunlock parts.
GLF = Gun Lock Filer = A person who files up forged parts of a gunlock.
GLS = Gun Lock Smith = Vaguely, a maker and repairer of gunlocks but not springs.
GLM = Gun Lock Maker = A maker of complete gunlocks, including springs.
GIM = Gun Implement Maker = A maker of screws, pins, triggers, hammers etc. for guns.
GSM = Gun Sight Maker.
GBM = Gun Barrel Maker.
GAF = Gun Action Filer = A person who files up gun actions (see GAM)
GAM = Gun Action Maker: [in a breech-loading gun] the action being the body around which the lock(s), stock and barrel(s) are integrated.
GS = Gunsmith = A repairer of guns.
GM = Gunmaker = A maker or finisher of complete guns from component parts.
Lic Vic = Licensed Victualler = A person licensed to sell intoxicating drink.
Maltster = a person who malts barley for the beer brewing trade.
Powder Flask Maker = A maker of gunpowder charging flasks for muzzle-loading guns.
App = Apprentice = Strictly, an indentured or legally bound trainee (often a loosely used term).********
The author would like to acknowledge all
the help he has received during more than thirty years of research from the staff at:
Wolverhampton Central Library
Birmingham Central Library
Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies
Wolverhampton
City Council (Law & Resources Dept.)
Lichfield Joint Records Office
Staffordshire County Records Office
Dti Companies Registration Office
The William Salt Library
The Worshipful Company of Gunmakers
Dudley
Archives & Local History Service
and the individual contributors:
Maj.
D. H. L. Back
Hon. Richard Beaumont (at James Purdey & Sons Ltd.)
E. Dora Billingsley
Barry Brazier
David Brazier (at
the Brazier surname website)
Rev. Fr. Francis Brazier
Hugh Brazier
Joseph
Brazier
Lilias H. (St Aubin) Brazier
D. J. Brown
Anthony V. Bullock
J. Harlan Buzby
David
Chilton (at the Chilton surname website)
Mr. & Mrs. F. R. Daly
Rev. Fr. Peter Dennison
Joanna Donohue
Charles Eaves
Peter Edridge
Christine Ellis
Cyril Gibbons
Harry W. Griffiths
Lesley B. Hampton
Chris Henry (The Museum of Naval Firepower)
Kathryn Hill
H. Hodson
June James
Clive Law
Victor Mitchell
Pauline Nicholson
Julia A. Pursehouse
Ian
Rooke
Andrew Short
Anthony Smith
John Stanton & the Stanton family
Elsie Van der Star
Iris Tudor
David Wakelin
Dr. H. A. S. Walker
Mark Wallin (at York & Wallin Ltd.)
W. H. Clark (1933 - 2005) and W. T. C. Smith (1912
- 1987)
**********************************************