Birmingham Proof House
| Birmingham Proof House | |
|
Warwickshire | |
|---|---|
 Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House | |
| Type: | Proof House |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP07938696 |
| Location: | 52°28’50"N, 1°53’5"W |
| City: | Birmingham |
| History | |
| Address: | Banbury Street |
| Built 1813 | |
| For: | The Crown by John Horton |
| Proof House | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | The Crown |
| Website: | www.gunproof.com |
The Birmingham Proof House, otherwise known in full as the Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House is a weapons proofing establishment, built in the late Georgian period and still providing the same function, which stands in Banbury Street in the Gun Quarter of Birmingham, Warwickshire.
The building was designed by John Horton and consists of a centre bay, emphasised by a segmental parapet, which contains trophies by William Hollins. A Jacobean-style gateway was added in 1883.[1] It is a grade II* listed building.[2]
The Proof House was established in 1813 by an Act of Parliament at the request and expense of the Birmingham gun-making factories; a trade then at the height of its prosperity. The remit of the Proof House was to provide a testing and certification service for firearms in order to prove their quality of construction, particularly in terms of the resistance of barrels to explosion under firing conditions. Such testing prior to sale or transfer of firearms is made mandatory by the Gun Barrel Proof Act of 1868, which made it an offence to sell, offer for sale, transfer, export or pawn an unproofed firearm, with certain exceptions for military organisations, and so it was convenient to have a proofing facility where the guns were made.
The Proof process is that of testing a firearm for integrity using a severely overcharged cartridge, or Proof load which is fired through the gun in an armoured testing chamber. This exposes it to pressures far beyond what it would experience in normal service. It is awarded a stamped Proof Mark if it survives without either being destroyed or suffering damage from the proof load. Larger guns were tested at a shooting range in Bordesley along a railway viaduct, until the expansion of the city centre resulted in the closure of the shooting range.
The Proof House still exists today, largely unchanged in both purpose and construction, although it offers a wider range of services including ammunition testing and firearm accident investigation. The building contains a museum of arms and ammunition, and can be visited by prior arrangement.
See also
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Birmingham Proof House) |
- Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House
- Images of England — details from listed building database (216754)
References
- ↑ Douglas Hickman (1970). Birmingham. Studio Vista Ltd..
- ↑ National Heritage List 1291262: Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House