BRITISH MILITARY FLINTLOCK FIREARMS

Board of Ordnance manufacturing system and markings
1715-1815

British Light Dragoon Pistol
Storekeepers Date Mark: 1800

This quick reference is very much a work in progress. The following information is mostly based on the reference works appended to this page, observations of extant firearms of the period and various other relevant resources.

1. In 1715, the British Board of Ordnance instituted a standard system for manufacturing military firearms. Sealed Pattern Arms and Components (i.e. identified by wax seals) were made up under strict Board of Ordnance control for use by Contractors as outlined below.

2. Locks, Barrels, Brass Furniture (trigger guards & plates, butt & forend caps, side plates, butt plates, ramrod pipes, escutcheon plates, etc.), Small work (ram rods, triggers, pins, sling swivels, screws, etc.) and Bayonets (for muskets) were manufactured under contract (mostly by Birmingham companies) then inspected and stored in the Royal Armory at the Tower of London.

3. Lockplates were stamped with the Contractor's last name or TOWER over the contract date (prior to 1722 only the last two digits of the year) vertically on the lockplate to the rear of the cock and the Royal Cypher (crown over GR) between the cock and the pan. Additionally, the lockplate viewer stamped his mark on the inside of the plate and the Ordnance broad arrow surmounted by a small crown (the King's mark) on the outside surface under the pan.

4. Barrels were normally stamped with the Ordnance view and proof marks - small crown over Ordnance broad arrow/small crown over crossed scepters - on the top left rear. On occasion, barrels were stamped with the private Tower double crossed scepter view and proof marks. Barrels produced at Birmingham 1813-1815 were stamped with double cross scepter (V) view and (BPC) proof marks. An initial "before proof" viewer's mark was often stamped on the right rear of barrels or on the underside.

5. The Board of Ordnance initially contracted with established London Gunmakers (after 1804 Birmingham gunmakers were included) to produce completed arms using the stored components provided by the Tower Storekeeper(s). During the setting up, rough stocking, screwing together, finishing & final assembly operations the viewer stamped his mark(s) on the right rear of the stock (on muskets, musketoons and rifles - to the rear of the trigger guard plate) or in the ram rod channel.

6. Completed arms were returned to the Tower Storekeeper who recorded and stored them for eventual issue.

7. In 1764 the Board of Ordnance decreed that lockplates were to be no longer stamped with the Contractor's name over the contract date - all would be stamped TOWER (without a date) vertically behind the cock. The other lockplate stampings were retained.

8. Starting in 1770, the Storekeeper stamped his mark - crown over GR (Royal Cypher) over date (initially without date) - on the right rear of the stock. A later (circa 1805?) Storekeeper's mark was Ordnance broad arrow, BO and date.

9. Arms were produced by the Irish Board of Ordnance using similar manufacturing techniques and markings except that the lockplates were stamped DUBLIN CASTLE (Armory) vertically behind the cock.

10. In 1793, in an effort to relieve the severe arms shortage, the Board of Ordnance prevailed upon the East India Company (EIC) to sell all its currently contracted arms to the Government and order no more until notified -- the EIC subsequently yielded arms to the Ordnance Board on request throughout the Napoleonic wars (until 1815). The Ordnance Board even contracted with Liege makers for a quantity of muskets.

References:
British Board of Ordnance Small Arms Contractors (1689-1840), De Witt Bailey, Ph.D., W. S. Curtis Ltd., Wales, 1999
English Gunmakers (18th & 19th centuries), De Witt Bailey & Douglas A. Nie, Arco Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1978
British Military Firearms (1650-1850), Howard L. Blackmore, Arco Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1961
British Military Longarms (1715-1815), D. W. Bailey, Stackpole Books, Inc., Harrisburg, Pa., 1971
Red Coat and Brown Bess, Anthony D. Darling, Museum Restoration Service, Canada, 1971
British Military Pistols (1603-1888), R. E. Brooker, Jr., Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas, 1978