Gallyon Gun & Rifle Makers

Gun making by the Gallyon family began in the late 1700s when William Gallyon [1758-1838], a descendant of a family of glaziers,[6] was apprenticed to John Henshaw, a well-known London trained gunmaker. Henshaw completed his training in London and became a member of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers, a London Guild, and became a Freeman of the City of London. Henshaw worked and traded in London before moving to Cambridge around 1746.

Cartridges supplied to the Sandringham Estate circa 1955

In 1784 William Gallyon had left the employment of John Henshaw and had established his own gun making business in Cambridge. John Henshaw died on 7 February 1796 and within his will & testament, he directed his kinsman, James Henshaw, an ironmonger from London, to sell and dispose of the business, along with all the stock in trade and working goods; these were bought by William Gallyon.

In 1939 Gallyon & Sons bought the business of Lionel Clough based in King's Lynn, a business which had its origins in 1800 with M. Spencer, gunmaker.[5] In 1860 the business was sold and transferred to J.M. Boreham, and then 10 years later to John Young's Potter. Potter was an extremely fine craftsman who made a very good 12 and 16 bore game guns and larger bore fowling pieces.

John Youngs Potter married Sarah Ann Rey at Stepney Baptist Church, Broad Street, Lynn on 3 March 1850. The 1851 census showed that they were staying with his brother Thomas Potter, at Hanover Square in London. This was close to where John Youngs Potter worked for one of the most prestigious gunmakers in England, Harris Holland of Bond Street, London.

A pair of Gallyon duelling pistols circa 1790

On 26 June 1858, he placed the following advertisement in the Lynn Advertiser:

‘GUNS. J. Potter, Practical Gun, Rifle, and Pistol Manufacturer, from Holland’s, London, 52, HIGH STREET, LYNN, returns his sincere thanks to his friends and the public in general for the very liberal support he has received since entering upon the above business, and hopes by strict attention to merit a continuance of their future favors. Also would call the attention of gentlemen and sportsmen to his superior stock of DOUBLE and SINGLE BARRELL GUNS, RIFLES and PISTOLS, which he is now manufacturing, suited for every description of shooting; and, from his many years experience as workman and practical foreman in a first class London House, he is able to produce an article in every respect equal in any respect to any of the London makers, giving all that solidity of work, beauty of shape and finish, combined with strength and regularity of shooting, which makes a gun so deadly in the field. Gentlemen honouring J. P. with an order may have the advantage of viewing it in every stage of its manufacture, also testing its shooting qualities before delivery. BREECH LOADING GUNS. J. P. is now altering the old muzzle loading double and single barrel guns to breech loaders, giving additional strength to the barrels. Those that would not stand proof before will stand well after alteration. A select assortment of Cutlery and Fishing Tackle, Archery, Cricketing Goods, and every article requisite for sportsmen, all of which will be offered at lowest possible remunerating prices.’

In 1868 Gallyon & Sons leased premises at 66 Bridge Street in Cambridge, and eventually purchased the property in 1888 from St John's College, Cambridge.

Gallyon trade label: 1796

In 1955, Gallyon & Sons of King's Lynn was granted a Royal Warrant[1] of appointment to Queen Elizabeth II, having previously held those for kings Edward VII, George V and George VI.

On 1 April 1951, Gallyon & Sons purchased the business of Charles Francis, gunmaker of Peterborough. Charles Francis established his gun making business in long causeway, Peterborough, during the early 1800s. The business traded as Charles Francis & Son from 1951 until 1 March 1964, when the company was incorporated and became Gallyon & Sons (Peterborough) Ltd.

In 1964, Gallyon & Sons acquired another British gunmaker, C.S. Rosson, from its founder, Charles Stanley Rosson.[4][5][1][7][8]

Gallyon ‘Highest Grade’, sidelock hammerless ejector

In 1906 Charles Stanley Rosson came to Norwich from Derby, where he, his father and older brother had worked as gunmakers. Charles purchased an old established gunmaking business from Cartwright & Wilson, and quickly built up a reputation for very high-quality guns, that were valued and exported worldwide.

Situated originally on the corner of ‘Rampant Horse Street’, a location which was unfortunately bombed and destroyed during the Second World War, with the loss of the historical C S Rosson gun ledgers.

Gallyon temporarily took over what remained of the business after the bombing as an act of kindness to Charles, offering to ‘Caretaker’ the business until Charles was able to take back the running of the business. Gallyon returned the business back to C.S. Rosson in 1947, which was then re-established in ‘White Lion Street’, Norwich. After the Second World War and with the loss of the original archival gun records, the first recorded gun in the new ledger was dated 2 February 1946. The gun was given the serial number 4501. Rosson gun records normally show the date which the gun was finished, in some cases this was the date of the final engraving or sale to the customer. Rosson use several brand names, which denoted the level of quality. The top of its range was Eclipse, followed by Norfolk, County, Expert, Acme and finally Covert. In the early 1950s the business moved to 'Bedford Street' where Charles ran the business until 1956 when he died.

The Rosson business was then sold to Stuart Healy's of London and after three years the business went bankrupt.

The business was then sold at auction to H.P. Darlow, a wholesale arms and ammunition merchant from Bedford. Darlow tried to run the business unsuccessfully from his remote Bedfordshire office, until in November 1964 Gallyon agreed to buy the gunmaking business, with Darlow retaining the cartridge business. The takeover of the Rosson business was completed on 1 April 1965 and the Rosson name was retained for six months, then in 1966 it was changed to Gallyon & Sons (Norwich) Ltd.

More than 26 000 hand-made bespoke sporting guns have been manufactured by Gallyon & Sons of East Anglia since the companies foundation in 1784 up to 2017.

In 2017, Quiller Press published a limited edition of "Gallyon and Sons: Gunmakers of East Anglia", a book written by Richard Gallyon and Wendy Trott about the history of Gallyon Guns.[4][6][9] The company was incorporated in November, 2019.[2][10]

• Holland & Holland
• James Purdey & Sons
• Westley Richards

• Trott, Wendy; Gallyon, Richard (2017). Gallyon and Sons: Gunmakers of East Anglia. London, UK: Quiller Press. ISBN 978-1-84689-257-8.