King William was once lamenting, “that guns were not manufactured in his
dominions, but that he was obliged to procure them from Holland, at a
great expense, and with greater difficulty.” Sir Richard Newdigate, one
of the members for the county, being present, told the king, “that
genius resided in Warwickshire, and that he thought his constituents
would answer his majesty’s wishes.” The king was pleased with the
remark, and the member posted to Birmingham. Upon application to a
person in Digbeth, the pattern was executed with precision, and, when
presented to the royal board, gave entire satisfaction. Orders were
immediately issued for large numbers, which have been so frequently
repeated, that they never lost their road; and the ingenious artists
were so amply rewarded, that they have rolled in their carriages to this
day.
It seems that the word “London” marked upon guns is a better passport
than the word “Birmingham;” and the Birmingham gun-makers had long been
in the habit of marking their goods as being made in London.
In 1813 some of the principal gun-makers of London brought a bill into
the House of Commons to oblige every manufacturer of firearms to mark
them with his real name and place of abode. The Birmingham gun-makers
took the alarm; petitioned the house against the bill, and thirty-two
gun-makers instantly subscribed six hundred and fifty pounds to defray
the expense of opposing it. They represented that they made the
component parts of the London guns, which differed from theirs only in
being put together, and marked in the metropolis.
Government authorized the gun-makers of Birmingham to erect a
proof-house of their own, with wardens and a proof master; and allowed
them to decorate their guns with the ensigns of royalty. All firearms
manufactured in Birmingham and its vicinity are subjected to the proof
required by the Board of Ordnance: the expense is not to exceed one
shilling each piece; and the neglect of proving is attended with a
penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.