Made in Britain

Meet the modern British gunmaker enjoying its position in the market.

- Will Hetherington

Ten years ago, if you asked anyone with a passing interest to name the famous British gunmakers the answer would

no doubt have included names like Purdey, Holland & Holland and Boss. And anyone who has read articles by our own Donald Dallas over the years would be able to add plenty more names to that illustrious trio. But apart from the modern gunmaking genius that is David McKay Brown there couldn’t have been many other contemporary names on the list. There were a number of world-renowned individual craftsmen, such as David Sinnerton, but hardly any other established manufacturers displaying at the game fairs and running their own factories.

However, fast-forward to 2017 and that situation has changed quite notably. Now if somebody wants a British gun from a new maker there are two very attractive options. Boxall & Edmiston in the West Midlands is one of them and Longthorne Gunmakers, now based in Northampton since their move from the north west last year, is the other. And I had the pleasure of visiting Longthorne's impressive new facility on the western fringe of the town centre in January.

A BRAVE NEW WORLD

Elaine and Jim Longthorne Stewart were new to the gunmaking industry when they first launched their business in 2010. Their background was in precision engineering where they made parts for all sorts of projects as sub-contractors. They ran a successful business in Australia but decided to return to the UK in 1999, eventually settling in Lancashire. The pair opened a factory in the north west that had high precision tools in a business that focused on the high tech end of the engineering market. They had been making gun parts in Australia and supplied equipment for the medical market, as well as racing bike parts and components for the automotive trade.