W.J. Jeffery & Co
| Industry | Firearms |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Jeffery & Davies |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Founder | William Jackman Jeffery |
| Headquarters | 60 Queen Victoria Street, London, United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Double rifles, Bolt action rifles, Shotguns |
| Website | J. Roberts & Son holders of W.J. Jeffery & Co records |
W.J. Jeffery & Co was a London gun and rife maker.
History
In 1887 Philip Webley appointed William Jackman Jeffery manager of Webley's proposed London showroom at 60 Queen Victoria Street. Webley later abandoned their London operation and in 1890 Jeffery formed a partnership with a man by the name of Davies and Jeffery & Davies started trading from 60 Queen Victoria Street. This partnership was short lived and in 1891 the firm was renamed W.J. Jeffery & Co, still operating out of the Queen Victoria Street store. In 1898 the firm opened a shop at 13 King Street, St James's, and later a workshop at 1 Rose and Crown Yard, near to the King Street shop.
William Jeffery died in 1909, his brother Charles Jeffery took over the company. In 1914 the King Street shop was replaced by a smaller shop at 26 Bury Street, St James's, and the Rose and Crown yard workshops closed.
Charles Jeffery died in 1920 and his nephew F. Jeffery Pearce took over the company. The Queen Victoria Street shop was closed in 1921, and in 1927 the company moved to 9 Golden Square, Regent Street, in 1955, then W.J. Jeffery & Co Ltd moved to 5b Pall Mall.
In 1957 Westley Richards took over the business and moved it to 23 Conduit Street, in 1959 Holland and Holland took over and the address changed to 13 Bruton Street. J. Roberts & Son of London now hold the company records and also have a licence to manufacture under the Jeffery name.
Products
Whilst it did make shotguns, W.J. Jeffery & Co was mainly known for its rifle making, particularly double rifles, and the name in steeped in the history of big-game hunting in Africa and India.
One user was Jim Corbett, who used a W.J. Jeffrey & Co boxlock double rifle chambered in .400 Jeffery Nitro Express, along with a lighter Rigby Mauser in .275 Rigby.
In the early years of WWI, Jeffery's high velocity .333 Jeffery cartridge proved effective against the steel mantlet plates used by German snipers at the time.
Ammunition developed by W.J. Jeffery & Co
- .400 Jeffery Nitro Express in 1902.
- .600 Nitro Express in 1903.
- .404 Jeffery in 1905.
- .333 Jeffery in 1908.
- .280 Jeffery in 1913.
- .303 Magnum in 1919.
- .500 Jeffery in 1920.
See also
External link
- J. Roberts & Son holders of W.J. Jeffery & Co records