“Bang”. Can you hear that sound reverberating through time? It is a sound that was very familiar at the Former Gun Testing Range. The Gunmakers’ Company’s Proof House complex stands here. This is a unique survival on Commercial Road. The City Livery Company continues its original regulatory function. It has been on this site for nearly 350 years.
The Worshipful Company of Gunmakers was established by charter in 1637. This followed efforts to prove firearm safety. The Royal Commission of 1631 recommended its institution. Charles I granted the charter. The proving of guns began in 1656. The company could test all new hand guns produced in London. This also applied to guns imported within ten miles of London. They ensured gunmakers had served a seven-year apprenticeship. They also ensured a proof piece met the Company’s satisfaction.
The first proof house was built in 1657. It stood near Aldgate on land owned by John Silke. An explosion damaged Silke’s premises. This may have prompted the Company to move in 1663. The new site was likely in the Minories or East Smithfield. That was the centre of London’s gunmaking industry.
In 1676, the Company relocated to its current site. It was then an open field. It had no neighbours to disturb or damage. In 1752, a boundary dispute arose with Sir Samuel Gower. He owned land adjoining to the south and west. A plan resolving this dispute reveals the Gunmakers’ site layout.
By 1823, the proof house was again dilapidated. The master’s house was also dangerous. The site was rearranged. The freehold of the easterly strip of land was acquired. The new proof house and master’s house were built in 1826–7. Robert Turner Cotton designed these buildings. John Hill was the bricklayer. James Bridger was the carpenter.
The proof house is a rectangular stock-brick building. It has segmental-headed windows at upper levels. The interior was one space under a cast-iron framed roof. The lower half was divided into two proving chambers. The main chamber was the “proof hole”. Here, multiple barrels were tested simultaneously. In 1835, the upper part of the proof room was lined with cast-iron plates. This protected the structure from exploding gun barrels.
The Gunmakers resisted the Commercial Road trustees’ plan in 1802. An Act of Parliament limited gun proving hours. They also resisted in 1824. In 1882, the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway Company wanted the site. The Gunmakers relinquished a small strip with sheds.
In 1927, the Gunmakers’ Company sold Gunmakers’ Hall. The trophy of arms was transferred to Birmingham. The buyers were Israel Eichenbaum and Pinkus Segalov. The building was let to the Order Achei Brith. It was opened as the Order’s headquarters in 1928. In 2007, the Gunmakers finally reacquired the building.
Today, the Gunmakers’ Company proofing of military weapons has increased. By 2008, the proof master’s house was entirely for offices. The London Proof House remains one of the oldest running companies in the world of small arms. It continues the same tasks. They were chartered to complete when it was founded. The London Proof House tests gun barrels. It ensures they are safe for use. The echoes of its past resonate even now.