Wogdon & Barton
Encyclopedia
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
s based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Robert Wogdon produced flintlock
Flintlock
Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
firearms from the 1760s, and was particularly well known for his high quality duelling pistol
Duelling pistol
A duelling pistol is a pistol used in a classical duel. As a general rule, they are single-shot flintlock or percussion black powder pistols which fire a lead musket ball...
s. The name Wogdon became synonymous with dueling, to the extent that duels in England were sometimes referred to as "a Wogdon affair". Wogdon formed a partnership in 1794 with John Barton, after which their pistols were signed Wogdon and Barton. Wogdon retired in 1803 and died in 1813.
Wogdon made the pistols used in the infamous Burr-Hamilton duel, which were later claimed to have concealed hair triggers, designed to give the person using them an advantage over their opponent. However for at least twenty years before the duel English dueling pistols by all the top makers had been customarily fitted with hair triggers, known as set triggers. Wogdon's duelling pistols were fitted with them as standard, so they cannot be regarded as 'secret'.