Samuel Evans Gunsmith

from Arms Cavalcade Edition 2020

The Revolvers of John Adams

Samuel Evans was apprenticed to John Jenkins of Bristol on 9th June 1755, and admitted as a Burgess (Freeman) on 1 October 1774, and operated as a gunsmith at St Nicolas, Bristol from 1774 until aft er 1784.

By Paul Duff y

Iacquired this brass barrelled, flintlock blunderbuss pistol some years go. A well-made pistol, with a spring bayonet and cross sceptred proof marks. The name S Evans is engraved on the lock, which is fitted with a half cock safety catch.

I had searched Der Neue Stockel, Howard Blackmore’s list of London Gunmakers, and other sources, and couldn’t find a reference to S Evans. Recently I bought the book, Bristol Gunmakers from the 16th to the 20th Century, by Brian Godwin. This book self-published in 2012, is excellent.

Brian Godwin lists Samuel Evans as a Bristol gunsmith. Evans was apprenticed to John Jenkins of Bristol on 9th June 1755, and admitted as a Burgess (Freeman) on 1 October 1774, and operated as a gunsmith at St Nicolas, Bristol from 1774 until after 1784. These dates come from the Repository B&NES Record Off ice. The St Nicholas area of Bristol is near where the Bristol Bridge crosses the Cumberland Basin. An old part of Bristol, where the ships had been tying up for centuries. The first church on this site was

built in the 12th Century, next to Bristol bridge, from where the name Bristol, originates, (Brigstowe – ‘place of the bridge’). The 14th Century medieval crypt, which formed part of the Old City wall remains to this day. The current church was built in 1769.

The main body of the church was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1940. The church was re-opened in 2018 as a centre of worship.

This pistol is not an ordnance one. Samuel Evans made it for someone who could aff ord to pay a good price. The pistol has a blunderbuss barrel so I assume it was intended for close range personal protection. A great coat pistol, or a coach pistol, it is fitted with a spring bayonet 3.5 inches in length, which is attached to the muzzle by a hinge, and normally lies along the top of the barrel, being held in position by a thumb catch. The bayonet is released by pulling back the catch. The bayonet is rather a “novelty”, designed to attract the attention of the prospective buyer, than, a weapon of any real value, being no longer than the blade of an ordinary penknife, and better calculated to irritate than to injure anyone.

From the earliest times in Bristol, metal working played a large part of its trade. Smiths, iron founders and braziers produced a variety of goods to the easily accessible supplies of iron and charcoal from the nearby Forest of Dean. The production of weapons and military equipment was unquestionably part of this commerce.

The English Civil Wars (1641-1652) were a time of great upheaval for Bristol. As the second principal city next to London, Bristol was seen as a major prize that both sides in the conflicts struggled to possess. It began as a Parliamentarian stronghold, until it was besieged and taken by the Royalist in 1643, and finally recaptured by Parliament in 1645.

By 1700 the population of Bristol had increased to 25,000. The city became one of the key ports in the “triangular” route of the slave trade. British goods were first exported from Bristol, the ships then exchanging their goods for African slaves, who were taken to the West Indies where they were exchanged for raw goods such as sugar, tobacco and cotton. This cargo, with some slaves, was then brought back to Bristol for sale. As a result, the population of Bristol grew rapidly, bringing trade and prosperity to Bristol’s gunmakers.

Despite Bristol’s growth at the beginning of the Century as England’s second largest port, it was not to last and by the end of the 18th Century the

importance of Bristol had been surpassed by other places, such as Liverpool. The slave trade declined after 1740, so did Bristol, with Manchester and Birmingham taking over the position Bristol had previously held, as a major manufacturer and processor of imported goods.

Members may recall reading the informative article by Bill Taylor in an earlier edition titled The Slave Trader’s Pistol, about a flintlock pistol by John Parr of Liverpool, and the article of Tony Wood in the 2013 edition titled “A Slaver’s Sword”. Both authors mention the slave trade in 18th Century slave tr ra Liverpool and Bristol.