436 PnOGREBS OF the small arms manufacture. 
of what has grown into one of the most important industries of the town, 
I make no appology for giving it at full length : — 
" Fuom Ch. Myddelton, Off. of Ordnance, For their Mats. Service, to 
Sr. Roger Newdegite, att Arbury, near Warwick. 
"These— 
« Sr- Pursuant to an order of this Board, We have directed the sending to 
you by the Tamworth Carryer 2 snaphance Musquetts of differing sorts for pat- 
terns, desireing you will please To cause them to be shewed to ye Birmingham 
Workemen, and upon yor. returne of their ability and readiness to undertake the 
making and ffixing them accordingly— Or the making Barrolls or Locks only, 
Together wth. the tyme a sufficient Quantity of Barrells can be made in to answer 
the Trouble and Charge of sending an Officer on purpose to prove the same ac- 
cording to the Tower proofe which is the Equall weight of powder to one of the 
Bullett alsoe sent you and their Lowest price, either for a compleat Musquett 
ready fixd or for a Barrell or a Lock distinct or together as they will undertake 
to make them. We shall thereupon cause further direction to be given as sha'l 
be most beneficiall for their Mats, service with a thankfull acknowledgement of 
yr. great favour and trouble afforded us herein. 
"We are, 
"Sr., 
" Your msot humble servant, 
"Ch. Myddelton." 
" Office of Ordnance, 10th of January, 1689. 
" J. Gardiner, Jos. Charlton, Wm. Butler." 
Note by the late Sir Roger Newdegate, Bart. : — 
" Before, all the guns for the Army were imported from Germany." 
The term snaphance used in this letter is derived from the troops who 
made use of it.I These were a set of marauders whom the Dutch termed 
" snaphans," or poultry stealers. The use of the match-lock exposed 
them on their marauding expedition to this inconvenience, that the light 
from the burning match pointed out their position. They were unable 
to provide themselves with wheel-lock guns on account of their expense. 
In this dilemma they formed the snaphance from a study of a wheel- 
lock. The guns ordered from the Birmingham makers, although re- 
taining the name, were of course an improvement on the original 
snaphance, and were no doubt a near approach to the flint-lock of 
modern times. 
The first trial of the skill of the Birmingham men having resulted 
satisfactorily, we find that an order was afterwards transmitted to five 
manufacturers, Messrs. Wm. Bourne, Thomas Moore, John West, Richard 
Weston, ana Jacob Austin to provide 200 snaphance muskets per month, 
for which they were to receive, on delivery of each hundred muskets 
17s. each, ready money, in one week after delivery in the Tower of 
London, and that they were to be allowed 3s. for the carriage of every 
one hundred weight. This document bears date 5th January, 1693. 
We have little or no information to guide us in tracing the progress 
of the manufacture till the commencement of the present century, when 
the military records enable us to ascertain the capabilities of the trade 
