Shooting Times & Country Magazine
R TILNEY & SON SUFFOLK
My favourite gunshop is R Tilney & Son in Beccles. I’ve been going there since 1978, when a college friend took me to the Suffolk market town for New Year. In the intervening 44 years, I have become a close friend of the owner, Robert Tilney — in fact, he is the nearest thing I have to a brother. The splendidly moustachioed Robert is the fourth generation in the business, which was founded by his greatgrandfather Harry in 1860.
The business is still in the premises it moved to in 1868. It’s a typical 19thcentury shop with living accommodation above and to the rear. When it’s closed, the shop windows are protected by traditional wooden shutters painted in tan with each panel picked out in cream. Continuity doesn’t get much better; generations of Beccles citizens have seen the same view for the past century and a half.
Tilneys is a typical town-centre gunshop, the type that most towns had when I was a boy. Today, they are an endangered species, as retailing has changed beyond all recognition and with that the habits of the shooting community. The shop windows are full of second-hand shotguns and rifles; to the right of the door is Robert’s workbench, which like that of many craftsmen is a study in organised chaos. That has never held Robert back — he is a virtuoso gunsmith who can do most gun repairs, from dent raising and ejector tuning to re-jointing, spring tempering and choke relieving.
Since the 1980s, Robert has used metal-in gas (MIG) welders. He reasoned that if they could do repairs on the premises that would normally have to go to the
“It’s not a museum but a vibrant business run by a true prince among gunsmiths”
Birmingham trade, then they would not only increase their profits but would get repeat custom from satisfied customers whose guns were fixed quickly. Robert’s dad, Lindsey, was not persuaded and told me that he had wasted a huge sum on “an infernal machine” that would probably burn the place down.
Robert quashed all doubts by welding a broken mainspring, which went straight back into the gun and worked first time without retempering. Thereafter, Lindsey couldn’t get enough of it and the “infernal machine” paid for itself within weeks.
You won’t find huge piles of stock in the shop because Robert’s philosophy has always been about personal service. massive personal integrity which has made the business successful over the years.
Robert lives and breathes shooting; he is the finest driven game Shot I have ever seen and no slouch either with a rifle. That gives him a tremendous advantage over other sales people as he is no armchair shooter but a practical firearms user. All too often you find that sales people in bigger shops are only interested in relieving customers of their wads; they might as well be selling bananas for all the difference it would make. That’s not Robert’s style — customer satisfaction is all. He is also an accomplished clay coach who seems to iron out most people’s problems in just a few cartridges. He also guides for Chinese water deer and muntjac stalking.
So, that’s Tilneys. It sounds Dickensian and it is. That said, it’s not a museum but a vibrant business run by a true prince among gunsmiths.