Westley Richards
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| Private | |
| Industry | Firearms |
| Founded | 1812 |
| Founder | William Westley Richards |
| Headquarters | 130 Pritchett Street, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Double rifles, Bolt-action rifles, Shotguns |
| Website | WestleyRichards.co.uk |
Westley Richards is a British manufacturer of guns and rifles and also a well established gunsmith. The company was founded in 1812 by William Westley Richards, who was responsible for the early innovation of many rifles used in wars featuring the British Army during the 1800s. It remained in the hands of the Richards family until it was purchased by Clode in 1957. The company has received a number of royal warrants since 1840.
Famous gun owners have included Ernest Hemingway, Maharaja of Alwar and actor Stewart Granger. Today, Westley Richards is one of the oldest surviving traditional gun and rifle makers in England. In 2009, the company diversified into a number of other markets, including country clothing.
Westley Richards was founded in Birmingham in 1812 by William Westley Richards at the age of 22. His family background had been in fine jewellery, cutlery and the gun trade. Early in the company's history, Richards coined the motto, "to be the maker of as good a gun as can be made", which is still used to this day.
William Westley Richards was an early gun innovator, creating a number of gun-related patents. The two most significant was the patent relating to the use of a new waterproof primer for the ignition of percussion guns and also the first flip-up sight, which went on to be used by the British Army. Richards opened a gun store in London in 1815 on New Bond Street. The store was owned and managed by William Bishop, who was known as the Bishop of Bond Street. It was stated in a book published by G. T. Teasdale-Buckell in 1900, that Bishop had served as a lieutenant.
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Wikipedia