James Willmore was a maker of
firearms in London from 1715 to 1775.
He was also one of the early makers
of rifled barrels in England.
(1)
(2)
Willmore was not a freeman of the
Gunmakers Company and his
premises in Leicester Fields,
London, were frequently searched
for unproved firearms. (3) The
designation "F" (for foreigner)
was a stamp of the Gunmakers
Company of London which was
struck on any barrel proved by
them but which had been made by
someone other than a member of
the Company. (1)
According to Blackmore (3), Willmore
was appointed, by royal warrant,
Gunmaker-in-Ordinary to the King
in 1740, with a grant of lodgings
in Whitehall. The designation
Whitehall, in 1740, would have
referred to an area of London in
which the buildings of the Palace
stood. As a gunmaker-in-Ordinary
to the King (in this case George
Il), James Willmore was either on
the establishment or a member of
the Royal Household. He drew an
annual retainer as well as being
able to charge for work done.
In addition to the pistols shown
here, four additional firearms by
Willmore are known to exist. A
double-barreled flintlock gun in
the Royal Collection at Windsor
Castle (3). A pair of
Queen Anne pistols that appeared
in the Clay P. Bedford exhibition
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(4)
(currently in the collection of
John Chalapis) and a single Queen
Anne pistol in the collection of
Gary Kraidman. I have relied
heavily on the research of Mr.
Kraidman (1) for the
information presented here.
