The Guns Industry in Birmingham

This is probably the industry for which Birmingham is best known. The term "guns industry" really stands for a number of different trades. Due to the complex composition of a gun, there are in fact many different gun-making trades, from manufacture of the component parts to assembly, finishing and engraving. An 1860 trade directory lists 48 different trades.

The manufacture of gun barrels was organized on a large scale in factories mainly in Aston, Deritend and the Black Country, while the more highly-skilled work was done in smaller workshops in the so-called "Gun Quarter". This was originally the area around Digbeth at the start of the 18th century, but moved north in the 1820s to a close-knit square around St Mary Whittall Street Church.

Steam hammer in a gun barrel factory in the 1860s

The major technological advances affecting the industry were firstly that of rolling gun barrels, patented in 1812 and 1817 by Henry Osborn, and secondly the War Office's decision to utilize breach-lock guns in 1839 (though these had been patented as early as 1806).

The development of the trade has naturally been influenced first and foremost by wars. During the Napoleonic Wars 1,743,382 guns were made for the Board of Ordnance between 1804 and 1815, whilst total production of guns during the same period was over 5 million. Following the war there was a lull in trade. But the wars which followed (most notably the Crimean War 1854-56) ensured an expansion of the industry. The 125 gun-making companies of 1815 compare to 455 in 1829 and 578 in 1868.

Compared to the total British workforce in the gun trade in 1851 of 7,731 Birmingham alone was responsible for 2,867 making it the world's biggest producer. In 1860 6,000 were employed in the industry before BSA opened its factory in Small Heath. There followed the establishment of Westly Richards who made breach-lock guns, and in 1864 Charles Reeves who employed 400 workers.

After the Crimean War there followed a long period of peace. During this time, with the production of guns no longer necessary, after a short period of closure BSA turned its attention to making the new Otto bicycle. It only increased gun production again during the Boer War and the Great War. Between these, BSA was exporting guns to its later enemies. It has been cuttingly stated that between 1914 and 1918 14,000 Birmingham men were killed by Birmingham steel.

Links:
History of gunmakers Webley & Scott from 1790 onwards
The history of Birmingham Small Arms from 1861 onwards
The 250-year story of Chambers Gunmakers of London and Birmingham
A history of gunproofing in Birmingham
The Birmingham gun museum

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