James Purdey
& Sons
From a small London workshop opened in 1814 to one of the defining names in British gunmaking, Purdey’s history follows more than two centuries of craftsmanship, invention and sporting tradition.
A name woven into the history
of the English sporting gun.
James Purdey & Sons occupies a distinctive place in the history of London gunmaking. Its story spans the transition from flintlock to breech-loader, the rise of the hammerless sporting gun, the refinement of the self-opening sidelock and the enduring culture of the Best London gun.
Across generations, the firm combined inherited hand skills with a willingness to develop new mechanisms, patterns and methods. That balance between tradition and invention became one of the defining characteristics of the Purdey name.
James Purdey and the beginnings of the firm.
James Purdey began his training as a teenager and completed a seven-year apprenticeship before working for Joseph Manton, one of the most influential gunmakers of his age. He later joined Alexander Forsyth, whose experiments in ignition helped shape the transition away from the flintlock era.
In 1814 Purdey established his own business at No. 4 Princes Street, near Leicester Square. The firm moved to larger premises at Oxford Street in 1826, taking over space associated with his former employer, Joseph Manton. From these early workshops, Purdey built a reputation around sporting guns, rifles and meticulous London workmanship.
From Oxford Street to royal recognition.
The first half of the nineteenth century transformed British gunmaking. Purdey experienced that transformation at close quarters, progressing from flintlock work through percussion systems and toward the early breech-loading era.
In 1858 the founder retired and transferred the business to his son, James Purdey the Younger. A decade later, in 1868, the firm received its first Royal Warrant as gunmaker to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales — an important milestone in the house’s growing reputation.
Two centuries of continuity and change.
A concise chronology of events that helped shape James Purdey & Sons.
An age of invention.
James Purdey the Younger guided the firm during a period when the sporting gun was changing rapidly. The move from muzzle-loading systems to breech-loading guns created new opportunities for action design, locking systems and faster handling.
Under his leadership, Purdey became closely associated with the refinement of the hammerless sidelock. His willingness to adopt and develop promising ideas would culminate in the mechanism that became one of the firm’s signatures.
The self-opening sidelock.
Former Purdey stocker Frederick Beesley devised a self-opening hammerless action in 1879. Purdey worked with Beesley to develop and finance the patent, registered in 1880. The mechanism used energy retained in the mainsprings to assist the opening of the gun.
The design entered production in 1881 and became inseparable from the Purdey identity. More than a century later, the same essential action remains at the heart of the firm’s classic side-by-side.
Audley House.
At the beginning of 1883, Purdey moved into purpose-built premises at 57–58 South Audley Street in Mayfair. Designed to bring together the public face of the firm with the practical needs of gunmaking, Audley House became one of the most recognisable addresses in the London gun trade.
Its Long Room developed into a focal point for the firm, surrounded by generations of records, memorabilia and sporting history. The building endured wartime bombing and later damage in the twentieth century, yet retained the character that made it synonymous with Purdey.
Tradition preserved through practice.
Purdey’s longevity rests not simply on age, but on continuity: the passing of specialist skills from one generation of craftsmen to the next, the preservation of proven mechanical principles and a culture in which hand fitting, proportion and finish continue to matter.
From the founder’s early London workshop to Audley House and the modern West London workshop, the firm’s history reflects the broader evolution of British sporting gunmaking while retaining a recognisable identity of its own.
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Historical sources for the Purdey story.
English Doubles draws on primary maker history and related reference material when documenting the people, places and mechanisms associated with James Purdey & Sons.