Lincoln Jeffries Steelhouse No.1Mk.3

[jonh172]

Hi guys!

Looking for information on a No.1Mk3 a buddy of mine has.

It’s basically a standard sporterized No.1 except the barrel has written on it:

LINCOLN JEFFERIES STEELHOUSE LANE BIRMINGHAM ENGLAND

It is in good condition and has a Weaver tip off mount.

I tried searching the net but came up with only that this was a gunmaker before ww2.

Does this rifle have any significant history or value or is it just another sporterised no1?

Thanks in advance!!

Jon

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Mk VII]

Lincoln Jeffries patented the well-known air gun design which BSA sold at one time.

Steelhouse Lane was at the heart of the Birmingham Gun Quarter. Very likely the name just indicates a retailer (and it might have been just name that had been acquired by somebody else by then).

[Roger Payne]

Steelhouse Lane was indeed in the same vicinity as Price Street, Whittall Street & the other small streets in the Birmingham 4 post code that made up the gun quarter. It is now reduced to just half a dozen or so gun makers clustered in or around Price Street. AFAIK there are no gunsmiths/gunmakers remaining in Steelhouse Lane itself, although it is the location of the old Birmingham General Hospital, now re-purposed as Birmingham Children's Hospital. Birmingham Proof House is also close at hand.

[harry mac]

The company of Lincoln Jeffries now makes air rifle pellets under the "Marksman" brand.

[jonh172]

Thanks for the replies guys!!

Curious what the group thinks on its collectibility or rarity if you will?
Is this an outfit that was well known for sporterising Enfields with a high volume or is this not your everyday industry sportered rifle?

[Roger Payne]

What I know about the commercial sporterising of Enfields would fit on a postage stamp, but FWIW I had never heard of L-J doing it; I only knew of them in connection to air rifles.

[jonh172]

What I know about the commercial sporterising of Enfields would fit on a postage stamp, but FWIW I had never heard of L-J doing it; I only knew of them in connection to air rifles.

Thanks Roger! This definitely helps

---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 PM ----------

Hi all. I've been watching this thread with interest. I'm not overly au fait with the commercial Enfields either, however I've never heard or seen one marked to Lincoln Jefferies.
I agree that it must have been one they retailed, my only knowledge of their manufacturing output is all air-related.

Regarding value or collectability, I can't see it'll make much difference and it's main appeal is curiosity to people like us!

Best regards, Jon

Thanks Hayboy!
Totally agree about it being more of a curiosity than a value increase, I’ll pass this on as I believe this answers the question!

[hayboy]

Hi all. I've been watching this thread with interest. I'm not overly au fait with the commercial Enfields either, however I've never heard or seen one marked to Lincoln Jefferies.
I agree that it must have been one they retailed, my only knowledge of their manufacturing output is all air-related.

Regarding value or collectability, I can't see it'll make much difference and it's main appeal is curiosity to people like us!

Best regards, Jon

[Jc5]

When you say it is a “standard sporterized No.1 “, what does that mean? Is it an ex-service rifle (with government markings and date) that has been converted to a sporter? Or was it built as a sporter (with commercial markings)?

If the former, it might have been fitted with a barrel by/from Lincoln Jeffries. If the latter (which is more likely), it was a BSA commercial sporter retailed by Lincoln Jeffries.

A few pics of the markings will tell us. Or if you can describe the markings.

Would love to know. To those of us who study the British gun trade and its history, the Jeffries connection is a plus. It’s a piece of history. Jeffries (the company) is best known for air guns (and their connection to BSA) but they produced shotguns and rifles too, having been in Birmingham since at least the 1870s. Lincoln Jeffries’ great-grandsons carry on the business today.

[jonh172]

When you say it is a “standard sporterized No.1 “, what does that mean? Is it an ex-service rifle (with government markings and date) that has been converted to a sporter? Or was it built as a sporter (with commercial markings)?

If the former, it might have been fitted with a barrel by/from Lincoln Jeffries. If the latter (which is more likely), it was a BSA commercial sporter retailed by Lincoln Jeffries.

A few pics of the markings will tell us. Or if you can describe the markings.

Would love to know. To those of us who study the British gun trade and its history, the Jeffries connection is a plus. It’s a piece of history. Jeffries (the company) is best known for air guns (and their connection to BSA) but they produced shotguns and rifles too, having been in Birmingham since at least the 1870s. Lincoln Jeffries’ great-grandsons carry on the business today.

Excellent points and info thank you!
The owner is an 85 yr old gunsmith who is not savvy with computers so getting pictures will be a challenge but I’ll see what I can get!

Jon

---------- Post added at 12:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:15 PM ----------

Lincoln Jefferies was an 'assembler' of gun components (and a retailer). His shotguns has a very 'good' name.

There was a similar question in 'Shooting Times' in 2012 - but it was regardimg a shotgun, not a sporterised SMLE.

The answer being :

Lincoln Jeffries (1847? 1932) was a prominent Birmingham gunmaker best known for designing the tap loading underlever air rifle subsequently built by BSA.

He occupied various premises in Whittall Street and Steelhouse Lane in the heart of the city?s gun quarter.

Less memorably, he was also involved in litigation with William Ford over a patent, and was forced to concede that Ford had bored his guns that won a gold medal in The Field trials of 1879.

Jeffries was something of an inventor, with a dozen patents to his name.

Though he was a gunmaker in the true sense of the word, your gun will have passed through many pairs of hands, as he would have had all the specialised functions of manufacture performed by outworkers.

Fantastic thanks so much for this!