William Rochester Pape (1831–1923) was an English gunsmith who is often credited with inventing and patenting the choke boring system for

shotguns A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

, which

W. W. Greener W.W. Greener is a sporting shotgun and rifle manufacturer from England. The company produced its first firearm in 1829 and is still in business, with a fifth generation Greener serving on its board of directors. History The history of W.W. Green ...

went on to develop. He also patented several extractors, and invented

draught excluder A draught excluder or draft guard is a device used to prevent cold air from entering a building through gaps around entry points such as doors, windows and fireplaces. Types Door A door draught excluder is placed at the bottom of a door to ...

s for railway carriage doors and windows.

History

Pape was born in

Amble, Northumberland Amble is a town on the North Sea coast of Northumberland, England, at the mouth of the River Coquet; Coquet Island is visible from its beaches and harbour. In 2011, it had a population of 6,025. Etymology There are two suggested origins of ...

, England in 1831, the son of James and Dorothy Pape. He opened in first shop in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

in 1858, expanding his family's game dealership, and produced his first shotgun in 1857. In the 1860s, he expanded his business, buying another premises at 29 Collingwood Street, Newcastle. In 1866, he invented the choke boring system for shotguns (British Patent No. 1501), and went on to patent a system of mechanically retracting

firing pin A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...

s, improving on this system later that year, and again in 1870. In 1875, he won a prize of ten

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

as 'the original inventor' of choke boring, a prize intended to settle disputes over the origins of choke boring. Other people who have been credited with the invention of choke boring include Jeremiah Smith of Southfield, Rhode Island in 1827, Fred Kimble, who used choke boring to win the Illinois State Championship in 1868, and

Sylvester H. Roper Sylvester Howard Roper (November 24, 1823 – June 1, 1896) was an American inventor and a pioneering builder of early automobiles and motorcycles from Boston, Massachusetts. In 1863 he built a steam carriage, one of the earliest automobiles. The ...

who applied for a patent in 1866, six months before Pape. His company supplied guns to the Japanese during the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

. Pape won the London

Field Trials A field trial is a competitive event for gundogs. Field trials are conducted for pointing dogs and setters, retrievers and spaniels, with each assessing the different types various working traits. In the United States, field trials are also con ...

in 1858, 1859 and 1866, and came second and third in class 1 for choke border guns and first in class 2 for cylinders in 1875. He won a prize medal at the

Royal Mining Engineering Jubilee Exhibition The Royal Mining Engineering Jubilee Exhibition was held in 1887 (delayed from planned 1886 opening) at Newcastle's Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne and Bull Park (renamed the Exhibition Park later in 1929. Summary Over two million people attended, ...

in 1887, and received a diploma of merit at the Glasgow exhibition in 1889. On 28/29 June 1859, Pape, along with Messrs John Shorthose, a brewer's agent, organised the first dog show in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, held at the

Corn Exchange, offering Pape shotguns as prizes, however only one shotgun is referred to in the Pape Ledgers. Pape retired in 1889, leaving his business to his son, Victor, and died in 1923 after a road traffic accident. He is buried in St John’s Cemetery in Elswick in Newcastle’s West End.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pape, William Rochester 1831 births 1923 deaths People from Amble English businesspeople