Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Birmingham Proof House

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Type
  
Government Owned

Website
  
www.gunproof.com

Function
  
Museum

Industry
  
firearms

Founded
  
1813

Birmingham Proof House Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House Museum Ammunition Test England UK

Headquarters
  
, Banbury Street, Birmingham, U.K.

Services
  
Proofing and certification of firearms and ammunition, quality testing

Similar
  
The Anchorage - Birmingham, Public Library and Baths - Ba, Holliday Street Aqueduct, Chinese Pagoda, The Endwood

Birmingham proof house tour part 1 by racknload


The Birmingham Gun Barrel Proof House is a weapons proofing establishment in Banbury Street, Birmingham, UK. 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. It is a grade II* listed building.

Birmingham Proof House Birmingham Gun Barrel Proofhouse

The Proof House was established in 1813 by an act of Parliament at the request—and expense—of the then prosperous Birmingham Gun Trade. Its remit 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.

Birmingham Proof House httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

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; however, the expansion of the city centre resulted in the closure of the shooting range.

Birmingham Proof House New Page 1

Proof may be rendered invalid if the firearm is damaged or modified significantly; at this point it is described as "out of proof" and must be re-proofed before it can be sold or transferred. Note that the correct term for a satisfactorily tested firearm is Proofed, and not Proven.

Birmingham Proof House New Page 1

There are penalties for non-compliance with proof laws; a fine of £5,000 may be levied for selling an unproofed or out-of proof firearm, more if a number of firearms are involved in a transaction. Tampering with, or forging, a proof mark is regarded as even more serious.

Birmingham Proof House The Birmingham Proof House by Mike Yardley

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.

References

Birmingham Proof House Wikipedia