It is of course nonsense. Even before then and when I was old enough the likes of Lang, Hussey, Reilly, Hellis and others had already gone including Webley's London saleroom. Or moved out to Outer London. And the same with the famous provincial makers. Edwinson Green, Pape, Gibbs, Greener and etc. Even the old Scottish makers I recall visiting when driving up to the Edinburgh Festival have gone.
I always since reading Purdey's poem "The Battle of the Guns" coveted owning a top tier London gun. But never, never, never, even as an fourteen year olf did that bucket list include the name William Evans. Eventually in 2014 at age fifty-seven I scractched the itch and bought a Boss. But still on those fifty years between age fourteen and age fifty-seven an Evans was never even considered. Not even ever was it on the list!
All the London makers that I remember that did exist in my yoth and that I indeed visited have gone from Central London. Cogswell & Harrison of Picadilly...gone. Churchill, Atkin, Grant and Lang (across the road on fact from Evans)...gone. Rigby....gone. Even Boss....gone. And from Beak Street Wilkes....gone.
The only two that remain either have freehold or a long leasehold or have the backing of a wealthy parent. Purdey is Swiss owned and Holland & Holland owned by Beretta. Evans? Never were anyway a top tier rank maker as were Holland, Purdey and Boss but a seller in the 1920s and onwards of Webley made guns engraved and finished with the William Evans name.
If this is all "Labour's fault" then I assume that the Beretta Gallery will soon be closing? The simple fact is that Evans' reputation was on side by side guns and not over and under guns and that they sell a branded Perazzi MX12. Simply folk are now "savvy" and won't pay a 50% premium for a British name on an Italian shotgun when they can but it as an Italian gun.
The market is either high end fully English bespoke made be that SBS - and Watson still make such...or English bespoke OU such as Purdey's resurrection of Woodward and of course Boss or lower priced over and under guns that are Italian made. Evans product range doesn't fit those demographics and its the same why others such as William Powell now have a much slimmed down range of "own branded" guns in their inventory.
