Original Item: Only One Available. The Webley Royal Irish Constabulary revolver is a British double-action, centerfire cartridge revolver designed in 1867. It was one of the earliest British breechloading revolvers and one of the most popular British revolvers of the 19th century.

Here we have a very interesting example of a Webley RIC No.1 Type revolver, which is marked across the top of the barrel with W.W. GREENER, a very well-known and respected British gun making firm, whose history reaches back almost 200 years! We have not been able to find much information on these revolvers at all, but we have seen them advertised as both "Retailer Marked" and also "unlicensed copies". We found another example identical to this one, with the same TRADE MARK / LONDON TOWER marking on the left side of the barrel trunion, however that did not have a serial number as this one does, which is 282, as marked on the lower left frame and rear of the cylinder. The only other markings we can see are FOR 450 CENTRAL FIRE CARTRIDGE, and also a tiny O / CROSSED SCEPTERS / V marking on the lower right frame, with the same proof next to all the cylinders.

William Greener had been working for the prominent London gun maker Joseph Manton, before returning to his home in Newcastle to found the W. Greener Company in 1829. In 1844, having realized that almost all of his supplies were coming from Birmingham, he moved his production to the city, and during 1845-58 was appointed gunmaker to Prince Albert, the Prince-Consort of Queen Victoria. The company became quite prosperous at this time, and opened a factory on "Rifle Hill" in the Aston area of Birmingham. However, William Greener was a very firm believe in muzzle loading firearms, and refused to make any breechloading guns.

His son William Wellington Greener was not of the same mind, and struck out on his own, to found the W.W. Greener Company, producing his first breechloader in 1864. After his father passed away in 1869, the two companies were merged under the W.W. Greener name, after which they made a full line of high quality breech loading guns. The company was credited with advancing many innovations during the 19th century, including some innovative breech locking mechanisms, such as the cross bolt, and later "Treble Wedge-Fast" breech action. The treble wedge-fast was one of the strongest breech actions ever invented and was widely copied by other manufacturers, after the patent rights expired.

The revolver we have here is identical to an early production R.I.C. No.1 Revolver, however it looks to be in .45 Adams / Boxer, as indicated on the cylinder top strap. The cylinder is 1 3/16" long (1.19in or 30mm), which is too short for .455 Webley and other cartridges introduced around 1890. The revolver is fitted with a 4 ½ inch barrel, correct for the larger R.I.C. No.1 revolver, and it is the correct 9 1/4 inches long. The revolver operates in both Double Action and Single Action, and the wood grip is fully checkered. Folding side gate on the right hand side provides access to the chambers for ejection and reloading using the attached ejection rod.

Overall condition is very good, with the original bluing faded to more of a gray color, showing wear from use and cleaning. still retaining the blued finish very well, except on the cylinder, which is a bit faded to a gray color. The lanyard ring is still present, and the grip is in very good condition, still retaining strong checkering and showing no major wear or damage.

The action works very well, and we did not notice any finicky behavior in either double or single action, just a bit of slop in the lockup. The bore is in very good condition, showing a mostly bright finish with crisp lands and grooves. It does not look to have seen much use, but there are some spots of oxidation from exposure to moisture over the years. It is still well above what we usually see for a black powder revolver form this era. The revolver breaks down correctly, for cleaning, and we did not notice any difficulties or missing parts.

A very interesting R.I.C. revolver by W.W. Greener, in lovely condition. Fully functional, ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1880
Caliber: .450 Adams / Boxer
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Overall Length: 9 1/4 inches
Barrel Length: 4 1/2 inches
Action: External Hammer Double/Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

More on the Webley Royal Irish Constabulary Revolvers:
British gunmaker Philip Webley and Son of Birmingham produced their first cap lock revolvers, known as Webley Longspurs, in 1853 with limited success, due to the popularity of the already established Adams revolvers. Taking lead in the new centerfire metal cartridge technology, they produced their first breechloading, centerfire cartridge revolvers in 1867. They immediately became popular with British Army officers, who at the time were expected to purchase their own personal weapons (swords and pistols) on their own expense, as very robust, compact and reliable weapons. They were the first popular Webley product that made the firm famous. Due to their quality, they remained in production for more than 30 years.

In 1868, the Royal Irish Constabulary was formed as a paramilitary force armed with carbines and revolvers. As the Webley revolver was adopted as their first service weapon, that specific model was known after that as the Royal Irish Constabulary revolver. This was then used as the basis for later Webley designed revolvers. This continued after 1897, when Webley merged with W.&C. Scott & Son and Richard Ellis & Son to become the firm of Webley & Scott. This amalgamated firm continued to produce various "Webley" style revolvers in different configurations well into the second world war.

Webley R.I.C. revolver No 1
Designed in 1867 for .442 centerfire cartridge, it was one of the earliest British breechloading revolvers. Solid frame revolver, with a round barrel screwed into the frame, and a one piece wooden grip held by two vertical screws. The foresight is slotted in, mostly semi-round, while the backsight is a long, V-shaped groove on the top strap above the cylinder. It has a loading gate hinged at the bottom that opens sideways, held by a flat spring. The six cambered cylinder is plain in the early models, while in later ones it was fluted to achieve a small reduction in weight. The ejector rod is mounted on a yoke (swivel) under the barrel and mostly housed in the hollow cylinder arbor, so it can be pulled out and swung to the right when needed. When the ejector rod is drawn out, the cylinder may be removed after drawing the arbor forward. The revolver has a double-action lock, with a half-cock position for loading.

These revolvers were made in a variety of calibers, but no less than .410 in (10.4 mm). They were widely used all over the British Empire, and copied in various European countries. In 1872, a pocket model (.442 in) with a 2.5 in barrel was produced, which was the precursor of the famous British Bulldog revolvers.

Webley R.I.C. revolver No 2
Produced from 1872, slightly smaller (8.25 in length, 3.5 in barrel) and lighter (0.76 kg) model, with the same overall characteristics. They were made in a variety of calibers, from .320 and .380 to .450. Service revolvers were six-shot, but smaller commercial 5-shot variants were also very popular.

Service history
These revolvers were massively used by British officers and horsemen in the Anglo-Zulu War (1879). Practical use in combat showed that they were mostly effective on the distance of less than 25 yards.

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