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s.wright and son/webley and scott gunmakers

S

sue reeves

knowlegable brummie
Hi - My husband Barry worked for Webley & Scott for 25 years he was the foreman on the Revolver & Air Pistol assembly until they sold it off abroad. He also worked for W&C Scott Tame Road on double barrel shotguns, Parker Hale on the sights and Accles & Shelvoke on humane killers. He is still in touch with a couple of old workmates from Webleys. If you are interested in a chat let me know he will ring you. Happy memories of some wonderful characters, we did infact meet there as I worked on the switchboard and wages offfice.
 
does anyone remember a gunmaker called s.wright and sons in birmingham ? i don't know what the s stands for but suspect its for samuel , he must have had a reasonably large works as he made guns for other makers such as george hinton in taunton , charles hellis , and also churchills , just like to know where he operated from and a little history would be nice too.

also does anyone have any pictures of webley and scotts weaman street works ? i'd really love to see them if you have any.

thanks
 
1921 Wright & Sons, gun makers, 25 New buildings, Price street
1932-1933 Wright S. & Sons, gun makers, 8 Price st
1939-1940 Wright S. & Sons, gun mkrs. 74 Whittall st 4. Central 6724
1943-1956 Wright S. & Sons, gun mkrs. 97 & 98 Bath st 4. Central 6724
1962- 1973 Wright S. & Sons, gun mkrs. 98 Bath st 4. Central 6724
1973 is the last Kellys Birmingham directory

Before 1921, in 1913 and 1915 there was :
Wright.George, gun implement forger, back 101 New Summer St, who may have had something to do with the firm
 
This is a photo of a gun I had as a teenager and used to use at my brothers where he had targets etc set up in his garden shed. Is this gun made by Webley?. Have thrown in my old penknife for good measures. Jean.
 
Quote---- This is a photo of a gun I had as a teenager


Jean i,ve seen photos of you with a bandana covering half your face when you were younger. i think Webley and Scott used to be in the gun quarter and then they moved up opposite the Albion ground on B,ham Rd.Dek
 
dek carr said:
Quote---- This is a photo of a gun I had as a teenager


Jean i,ve seen photos of you with a bandana covering half your face when you were younger. i think Webley and Scott used to be in the gun quarter and then they moved up opposite the Albion ground on B,ham Rd.Dek
Click to expand...

Another Jean here dek and doubt you have ever seen me as I don't come from Birmingham but have an interest through my ancestors. You mention that there is a 'gun quarter' where would this be? My Gr Gr Gr Grandfather in 1851 was listed as a gun barrel finisher and on his son's marriage certificate his occupation was gun maker. JeanB
 
Hello and welcome Jean the Birmingham Gun Quarter ironically was in the area where the childrens hospital is now.
 
Jean,
That air pistol was a "diana" I had one as well,the catch at the top used to wear out fast,and they would then fire without pulling the trigger.Funny how they sold such stuff to children for 21/-,I bought my own.
 
Hi Wendy, Can you tell me where about's the Children's hospital is or the name of it. Would just like to establish where this area was in relation to where my Gr Gr Gr Grandfather lived in the 1850's. On the 1851 census they was living at 2 Court 3, Hill St, which apparently was in the Market Hall District.
Thanks JeanB
Regards Jean
 
Webley Scott was in Whithall St.across the road from the general hospital.Between Whithall and Weaman St.it was a hive of tiny workshops,mostley making guns,some of which were sold in three shops along Steelhouse Lane.
 
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has anyone any pictures of the webley and scott factory in weaman st ? there must be some somewhere .
 
Thanks Ray.
Have just found an interesting list of gunmakers from 1849 and the addresses but afraid no photos as yet https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/History_and_Directory_of_Birmingham,_1849:_Guns
This next site has a few photos on but are more recent and there is a lot of information.
https://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-g/the-gun-quarter/
Some more photos
https://oldbirminghampictures.lefora.com/2009/07/20/the-gun-quarter/
and finally for tonight
https://www.doubleguns.co.uk/aabrown/his.htm
Some interesting reading.
JeanB
 
The links are very interesting thank you for posting them. My husband was Greener's sporting guns last van driver in the 1960's. His last job when they closed was to transport all the remaining guns and ammunition to Webley Scott in West Bromwich who bought them.
 
Here is a picture of Webley Scott kindley sent to me by Astoness.

Webley_and_Scott_Weaman_Street_birdseye_view.jpg
 
I realize that this is late but I just joined. I'm from Brum but now live in NYC. Samuel George Wright was my great grandfather. He started this business. I remember going to their workshops in the mid to late 50s (I was about 8) where his two sons (one I believe was called Howard but I can not recall the name of the other) on Bath St. My father Bill Payne, his grandson, told me a story in 1988 about Samuel Wright that I have no reason to believe is not true. Samuel came to America during the civil war to make guns and his fortune. En route his ship was shipwrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia. The Captain got the people ashore and walked them toward civilization, along the way suggesting they find nourishment by chewing on the elasticated sides of their shoes. Samuel eventually got to NYC at the same time as the Taminy riots were happening. They were hanging black people in the streets. According to Dad, Samuel told him he took one look at it and boarded the first ship back to Brum where he then built the business.

My memory of their workshop is very clear although I was only a kid. The wooden floors and bays of craftsmen each surrounded by racks of files. They showed me how they caused the closure of a shot gun to be so precise. They smoked the open breach with a burning oily rag leaving a thin deposit of carbon on it. Then they closed the breach and reopened it to see the high and low spots on the closure surfaces. Brilliant.
 
Ray Barrett said:
Webley Scott was in Whithall St.across the road from the general hospital.Between Whithall and Weaman St.it was a hive of tiny workshops,mostley making guns,some of which were sold in three shops along Steelhouse Lane.
Click to expand...
yer i remember them. being there.......... they make a great weapon....

Webley & Scott - Gunmakers 1790
Webley & Scott is one of the oldest names in the gun industry with almost two centuries of production of some of the most famous firearms the world has ever seen - the Webely revolver, shotguns, and Webley rifles.

Webley was founded in the late 18th century by William Davies who originally made bullet moulds. In 1834 the company was taken over by his son-in-law, Philip Webley, and his brother James who began the production of percussion sporting guns. Two sons, Thomas and Henry, entered the family business during the 1860's. Webley manufactured several types of pistols over the subsequent years, including single and double action percussion revolvers as well as pin-fire and center-fire revolvers. It is for the production of handguns, that Webley became famous.

Webley's production originally consisted of hand-crafted firearms, although mass-production was later introduced to supply police and military buyers.
 
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Welcome to the Forum, Stephen, and thanks for a fascinating first contribution.

Chris
 
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