John Wilkes Gun & Rifle Maker

A short history of John Wilkes Gunmakers

The gunmaking firm of John Wilkes was established in Birmingham, England in about 1830. In the 1860s John Wilkes the founder left for the United States looking for business in the aftermath of the Civil War and never returned. He left his three sons Joe, John and Tom to carry on as best they could. In the event, they went separate ways and it fell to John who at the time was in his teens to carry on the gunmaking business. He decided that he needed a base in London where the market for guns and rifles was booming at the start of the breech loading era. Leaving the Birmingham firm in the hands of other members of the family he himself moved south, initially to work for the prominent actioner Edwin Hodges to learn how to make guns to the “London line”, that elusive combination of elegance and quality that characterised the capital’s best sporting weapons. Hodges’ products were much in demand because his ability to make the new breech actions soundly set him at the pinnacle of the trade in the transition to breech loading. The young Wilkes would have had a hand in the manufacture of many best guns of the period, by makers such as Grant, Boss and many others for whom Hodges provided actions.

After a while with Hodges, John Wilkes moved to work for the Glasgow based J.D. Dougall, whose London shop had been opened in 1864. Dougall was prominent in the early breechloading era because of his unique Lockfast action – which was used on guns and rifles of the highest quality. By 1879 the young John Wilkes had risen sufficiently in the esteem of the Dougall family to be taken into a form of partnership that was to last until the Dougalls closed their London business on the death of James Dougall the younger in 1896. All this time, whilst he himself was learning the trade in London, the Birmingham business of John Wilkes was still going. It seems likely that John was seeking to grow beyond the confines of the Dougall arrangement as in 1894 he had established a premises of his own. This was at 1 Lower James Street, between Piccadilly Circus and Golden Square in Soho, the district where the Wilkes business would remain for the next 109 years. For much of this time Soho was the centre of the outworker gun trade, its narrow streets providing affordable workshops for artisan craftsmen. With the unexpected closure of the Dougall business Wilkes was free to grow his own interests. His business card of the time describes him as a Gun Stocker and Finisher, late of J.D. Dougall and Sons and able to undertake repairs and alterations.

But this is not all that he did, because the Birmingham business was, in the late 1890s, producing about 100 John Wilkes guns a year of varying qualities, some of them London finished. Of these, some were sold retail their customers being recorded in the register but many were also sold to dealers for resale. A picture (see classic photographs) of the Gunmakers Association visiting the Kynoch factory in 1898 shows John as a powerful man in his early forties with dark hair and an imposing moustache in the fourth row; in poll position on the front row is former mentor, Edwin Hodges.

Around the turn of the century he would have been joined in the business by his oldest son John (J.W. Wilkes) and his younger brother Tom (T.M. Wilkes), who were born in 1886 and 1889 respectively. In the period from 1900 to 1914, close to 2000 guns and rifles were produced, again in a wide mix of qualities, and again more than half of the production finding its way to its customers via the agency of two dealers, C.B. Vaughan and E. Whistler. In 1913 came a further move to 31 Gerard Street where the firm stayed until 1925, followed by a short period at 21 Broad (now Broadwick) Street both in Soho. Whilst production slowed during WW1 it kept going, about 200 weapons being produced in the four years to 1918. In the period after the war J.W. Wilkes moved to Birmingham to take over direct control of the manufacturing there, returning to London in the mid 1920 to take over the reigns from his father of the London business. Like him he had become a master craftsman able to perform all the specialist skills of the trade. His brother Tom also became a partner in the business but focused his skills on administration.

John Wilkes senior died in 1927. At this time the Birmingham arm of the business was wound up, with the craftsmen moving to other firms who continued to supply Wilkes with guns to the design and style that were characteristic of Wilkes’ weapons. Thereafter, up to the late 1940s John Wilkes continued to source a large number of guns from Birmingham, particularly from the firms of John Harper and A.E Bayliss, and later from Webley and Scott. Many members of the London trade, notably Jeffery, Rigby and Purdey used Wilkes as a supplier of good Birmingham made guns, some of these being named as Wilkes guns, others bearing the names of their eventual retailers.

Also in 1927 came the last move of premises to 79 Beak Street, where the firm would remain for the next 76 years. On three floors of what was originally a five storied Regency terraced house, Wilkes established a shop and two floors of workshops. Over the years that followed they were to acquire the stock-in-trade from a number of gunmaking businesses that closed in London in the 20^th century; notably Woodwards, but others as well. By the end of the century the building was to become something of a living museum to the craft trade that had struggled to survive around it in Soho, every spare bit of space being crammed with artefacts of the gun trade, some dating back to the muzzle loading era.

The closure of the Birmingham business allowed John Wilkes to concentrate effort in the 1930s on making and selling Wilkes guns from the London shop whilst also providing outworker services to the trade – they acted as the workshops for many of the other London makers who were unable to train and keep their own staff through the depression years. They took on jobs ranging from simple alterations through to the complete manufacture of rifles for the likes of Rigby and Jeffery, as well as massive amounts of refurbishment work for Vaughan, who was the main source for anyone in London wanting to buy a second-hand gun between the wars.

Their renewed focus on producing for retail sale a significant number of finest quality guns and rifles, made predominantly in London. In this John drew on his contacts with his contemporaries in the trade in both London and Birmingham, many of whom were the finest craftsmen of their day; and some would now say, of any day. To mention just some of these, the actioners George Mealey and Roly Bloomer, the barrel filers Harry Wheeler and George Lane, the stockers Dickie Bolter and Ebenezer Hands and the engraver Henry Kell all contributed to Wilkes guns of the period, producing some really top quality sidelocks, but also, more unusually, a number of truly best boxlocks, of a quality and style that have never been bettered by anyone, a fact well known in the Trade.

The fourth generation of Wilkes to join the firm, who were like their predecessors also named John and Tom, were the two sons of J.W. Wilkes; J.W.H. Wilkes born 1924 and T.F. Wilkes, born 1925. Whilst John joined the business early in the second war Tom’s arrival was interrupted by war service and he did not start until 1946. The Second World War, unlike the First, had a serious impact on the retail side of the business and much of the firms efforts were directed at war work, including some rather interesting special production for use by the Special Operations Executive.

After the War the production of guns slowed to a trickle and the Birmingham sourced trade dried up. Retail activity was mostly repairs and alterations. But other London makers, whose craftsmen had not returned to them after the war, were struggling to fulfill orders and the firm survived mainly as a trade Gunmaker, adding Westley Richards, Holland and Holland and Greener to the list of those that sent them considerable amounts of work. In this period up to the late 60’s the main new production was bolt action rifles, of which a minority went out bearing the Wilkes name, the others bearing the names of other makers, mainly Rigby and Jeffery.

After working in the shop for about 20 years the younger John and younger Tom formally joined their father in the partnership in 1967, at which time their Uncle Tom retired. The following year John (J.W.) Wilkes died at the age of 82 having run the business and working in the shop to the end. John and Tom the younger had to take over the business at a time of approaching crisis in the trade. A lack of apprentices coming through and a sharp decline of many of the specialist outworkers, combined with the onset of high inflation meant that many members of the trade were struggling to stay in business. Many had taken orders that they could not afford to fulfill. John and Tom found there was glut of repair and reconstruction work and there was good business to be had buying and refurbishing guns at a time when few others could undertake any significant repairs.

After taking stock for a few years after their father’s death, they made a cautious start in the mid 70s at building new guns again – this time allowing for the growing trend towards more elaborate ornamentation, rather different from the more muted products of the 30’s and earlier. In the last 25 years or so at 79 Beak Street they produced about 50 best guns and rifles, mainly sidelocks and many of them exquisitely ornate, weapons which are of a quality on a par with the golden years.

In 2003, the painful decision was taken to leave the Beak Street premises after three quarters of a century as John and Tom wished to move into retirement. Craig Whitsey, who had been with the firm since 1970 is continuing the repairing and fitting of new barrels for the John Wilkes guns and rifles from his workshop in Arundel West Sussex.

Acknowledgement goes to Stephen Grist for this write up of John Wilkes Gunmakers.

Stephen Grist

July 2007

Craig Whitsey Gunmakers Limited