The London Proof House: Still Testing Guns After Nearly 400 Years

There are two proof houses in England, one in London and one in Birmingham. If you had asked the question one hundred years ago you would have got the same answer.

When the trigger on a gun, rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver or whatever is pressed, it sets off the sensitive detonator in the cartridge, and that in turn sets off the main explosive powder in the cartridge. That explosion ejects the bullet or pellets out with force. As we know, even a small bullet can travel two miles when it is shot out of a gun barrel.

So as you can imagine, the pressure inside a gun is huge. And the gun and the barrel have got to withstand that pressure over and over again.

A proof house is where firearms and gun barrels are tested, inspected, and stamped with proof marks to show they are safe for use, and it is illegal to sell or transfer a firearm that doesn’t have a valid proof mark.

Proof houses are established by Act of Parliament, and in days gone by, by Royal Charter. The London Proof House is operated by the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers, incorporated by Royal Charter in 1637, and carries out the statutory proof of small arms under the Gun Barrel Proof Acts.

Testing involves firing the guns in a special chamber, to make sure that they are safe, and do not have any defects that causes them to blow up.

When I passed the proof house, I wondered whether the name on the building was current. I was thinking that maybe it was an old sign, maybe the proof house had moved or maybe there weren’t any proof houses any more, So I rang the buzzer and a man came to the door and I asked him. And yes, it is still a proof house. I think I sounded amazed when he told me.

It didn’t strike me at the time, but looking at the photo above on the screen it struck me that the two very tall posts with cameras were placed there specifically because of the nature of the building.

And in the photo below, you can see the proof house set against other buildings. It is another example of London being surrounded by skyscrapers like invaders from another planet