Pics of Abandoned Parker-Hale Factory

[Surpmil]

Have a look at this thread on Westley Richards: Archived Report - Westley Richards Co. Gun Makers - B'ham - 31/05/09

Notice the order books!

More of the same: Search Results - 28DaysLater.co.uk Urban Exploration Forums

[Roger Payne]

Fear not Beerhunter, at least the 4T transit chests, albeit requiring major TLC after many years unprotected, were rescued.

ATB

[newcastle]

Look at that pile of Rifle Butts - dont look that bad actually.
.

[Peter Laidler]

Looking through some old notes made during and about the old L59 and L60 DP No1 and 4 rifle programme for UK Cadet forces. The name AJ Parker Birmingham cropped up there as this is where the UK MoD trials people went to purchase 6 or so No1 rifles to formulate the DP programme. The authority had already been given to use this company to buy/acquire the rifles (totally unuseable but not quite scrap would suffice) but dealing with AJParkers was a lesson in 'where there's a will, there's a difficult way......' Eventually 14MAG the REME trials people just sidelined them and got some old No1's from 'the trade' (I believe it was Fultons, via the trade whereby no money changed hands - but I expect that they got their pound of flesh.......). They didn't go back to AJP even for cleaning kit parts when they were formulating the then new SA80 cleaning kits

[Gnr527]

I bought a copy of Ma Parkers book and some sight bits by phone from AJ Parkers in March 2007 and got the distinct impression I was dealing with an old boy on his own.

The items arrived and I sent him a cheque under cover letter.

I suspect this was just before it closed.

John

[newcastle]

In 2005 they still have a ton of stuff. I tried to get a bolt only to realise that UK regulations made it impossible to get it shipped ot the US. Ended up with quite a few spares parts, bands sight bases etc etc

[Robert303]

Some years ago I dealt with AJP and bought a load of slings, oil bottles, Bren hooks and SKN cutaway rifles which I did pretty well with at Trade Fairs. At first they were good. Then I could never get hold of 'Gary' then I got no reply to telephone calls. I just wish I'd found them 5 years earlier and knew then what I know now.
I'd still like to find out the true story as to the final months of the business.

[Beerhunter]

I'd still like to find out the true story as to the final months of the business.

I suspect that it was all done so underhand that the perpetrators will never admit to what they did.

[Frederick303]

After Ma Parker died I death with the cousin who was trying to close up the shop. He was selling off those bits that he could, such as the sight book she wrote in 1984 (which is what I bought from him). I gathered he was a bit over his head and not a gun guy. This was back in the early to mid 2000s if my memory serves me right. The book is a good introduction, but has a few mistakes in it.

I also dealt with a fellow that had done business with Ma Parker and he allowed that she was in here older years willing to take orders for parts she did not have. In his case he wanted a long lee Enfield .410 bore barrel, as it was easier to get a shotgun permit at the time rather then get a variation on his FAC. In any case she took the order and failed to deliver a barrel in a timely manner. I gather she expected to come across a worn out tube and bore it out but did not. In any case he indicated that some of the stock and trade of AJ parker at that time were their stores of old parts, much of which in fact did not really exist.

The last bit of data I have was from an English target shooter who I met at Camp Perry some years ago in the late 1990s/early 2000s. In discussing the decline of the old time UK gunsmiths he said that both Parker Hale and AJ Parker had failed to keep up with the times. The problem was they were stuck in the pre-1996 SAA L2A2 ball ammunition tuned target rifles when with the new RG 155 loads the Target shooting world had moved on and tuned K98 actions or Enfield No 4 actions did not cut it. Both firms seem to have failed in the time frame, which was the late 1990s, again if my memory serves me correctly.

I also seem to recall an article someplace that blamed the decline of AJ Parker on the pistol ban of 1997. This article indicates that the target rifle shooting fraternity was simply not large enough to support these firms without the pistol smithing side of things. Apparently that really reduced the volume of business for the smaller gunsmith firms and pretty much put most of the general gunsmiths in business out of business. I recall the article because it seemed to indicate that there had been a lot more pistol shooting in the UK then most Americans were aware of.

[Bill Hollinger]

It is amazing it has lasted in that state as long as it has.