Posted by Northern Bob on February 11, 2008, 12:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Best Thread"
John, you are right that Westley Richards is not in Liverpool, W. Richards is and has been for a very long time. They are two separate companies. W. Richards didn't have the volume of production or the reputation for quality that Westley Richards had, but they did make some very fine guns. This is a section copied from the W. Richards website.
"W. Richards has connections with gun making going back to 1780 and was patronised by royalty from all over the British Empire including HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH Prince Albert, HRH The Duke of Gloucester and HSH Prince Adolphus of Teck. The Company grew to be a very successful business originally formed in London in 1801, then after a brief spell in Birmingham finally settled in Liverpool which at the time was a thriving shipping port. They continued to prosper opening a branch in Melbourne, Australia, in 1853 and then a further branch in England in Preston, Lancashire in 1872. Their success continued resulting in the setting up of a shooting ground at Walton in 1893, followed by a shooting range in 1897."
This is backed up by published books on British gun makers.The royals of the time were very selective with who made their guns. I agree that there were some top quality guns made in Belgium, just not many shared a name with a British maker. I've no axe to grind on the subject, I don't own any of their guns. I hope it is allowed on this site, I've pasted the website address.