The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the governing body for full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports in the United Kingdom. The Association was founded in 1859 with the founding aim of raising funds for an annual national rifle meeting to improve standards of marksmanship. Today the NRA continues this objective as well as organising civilian target shooting and selecting British teams to contest the ICFRA World Championships. The National Shooting Centre at Bisley is a wholly owned subsidiary of the association.[1]
History
The National Rifle Association was founded in 1859, 12 years before its (unconnected) American namesake.[2] Registered as a United Kingdom charity, its objectives are to "promote and encourage marksmanship throughout the King’s dominions in the interest of defence and the permanence of the volunteer and auxiliary forces, naval, military and air."[3][4] In pursuit of this, its founding aim was to raise the funds for an annual national rifle meeting (now known as the Imperial Meeting).[2] The Association was originally based on Wimbledon Common, where the Imperial Meeting was held for its first 20 years.
In 1860, Queen Victoria fired the opening shot of the first Imperial Meeting. The Whitworth rifle used and the target can be seen in the Museum of the NRA at Bisley. The Queen also sponsored the Queen's Prize match with a £250 cash prize - worth around £30,000 at 2022 prices. The first winner was 17 year old Edward Ross of the 7th North Yorkshire Volunteers.[5]
NRA Secretary Charles Robert Crosse, caricatured in Vanity Fair's "Men of the Day" series in 1912
The Imperial Meeting quickly gained significance in high society. In 1878 Edward Walford wrote "These annual gatherings are attended by the élite of fashion, and always include a large number of ladies, who generally evince the greatest interest in the target practice of the various competitors, whether it be for the honour of carrying off the Elcho Shield, the Queen's or the Prince of Wales's Prize, or the shield shot for by our great Public Schools, or the Annual Rifle Match between the Houses of Lords and Commons."[6] Key matches such as the Elcho were significant social occasions on par with The Boat Race.[7] Shooters and officials were often household names, and featured or even caricatured in society publications such as Vanity Fair.
The Association moved from Wimbledon to Bisley Camp in 1890 after encroaching housing development around Wimbledon caused concerns about the ongoing ability to safely operate the ranges.[8][9] In the same year, Queen Victoria granted the National Rifle Association a royal charter of incorporation.[10]
The NRA had a strong influence on the development of shooting sports around the world, particularly within the British Empire. The formation of the NRA of Australia in 1888 was prompted in part by the desire of regional associations to put together an Australian team to compete at Wimbledon.[11]
As a skill-based sport, target shooting became open to women from an early point. Participation was in open competition alongside men rather than separate events, although in practice many clubs refused to accept female members. In 1891, Winifred Leale of the Guernsey Rifle Club became the first woman to compete in an NRA Competition. In 1930, Marjorie Foster became the first woman to win the Sovereign's Prize.[12][13][14][15] A road on Bisley Camp is named in her honour.[16] Female participation was not restricted to the UK - in Australia, the North Queensland Rifle Association is documented as holding ladies' competitions as early as May 1899 (although Australian women were controversially excluded when the Army took control of fullbore rifle clubs in 1903).[17]
1990s–present
Through the 1990s and 2000s, the NRA experienced falling membership and financial difficulties.[18] Although the 2002 Commonwealth Games saw some capital investment to the Bisley facilities, other facilities including the accommodation and camping ablutions declined, with the NRA making significant redundancies in 2011 and 2012.[19]
In 2013, new management within the NRA saw a wholesale change in approach to estate management and membership.[20][21][22] Controversially, leases for clubhouses on Bisley Camp were increased significantly. One tenant fought a high profile battle in the media - having rejected the outcome of arbitration.[23] This episode was misreported in national press as involving the "Regimental Clubhouse" of the Artists Rifles Regiment,[24] but the Artists Rifle Club had in fact vacated the building in 1967 and had no connection with the new tenant.[25][26][27]
As a result of lease controversies, Conservative MP Adam Holloway referred the NRA to the Charity Commission in 2019.[24] The Commission had no concerns with the NRA's seeking market rates for rents and leases, but issued formal regulatory advice when it found the NRA had more generally acted outside its charitable objects by promoting civilian recreational shooting.[1]
In 2020 the Charity Commission stated that the association had made progress and withdrew the decision in April 2022.[1]
The National Shooting Centre (NSC) is a wholly-owned trading subsidiary of the National Rifle Association.[1] Through the NSC, the Association owns the freehold on "Bisley Camp", which covers the built areas including Club Row, other buildings and clubhouses as well as the extensive caravan and camping sites. The Camp area also includes some smaller, self-contained ranges such as Cheylesmore. The larger ranges (Century, Stickledown and Short Siberia) are held on a 99-year lease from the Ministry of Defence. Although these are operated directly by the NSC and are not strictly military ranges, they do utilise the MoD Danger Area (which serves the adjacent Pirbright Camp military ranges). Consequently, they remain subject to some MoD rules for civilian use of military ranges.
The original ranges for the NRA's Imperial Meeting were at Wimbledon, but in the late 1880s the National Rifle Association began searching for a new site. In early 1888 it seemed that Cannock Chase was to be selected from several locations under consideration. However, that plan fell through a few months later, and the other potential venues again put their cases, with the Middlesex Chronicle newspaper suggesting that a large site at Staines was a likely home for "The New Wimbledon". Eventually though, Bisley was selected. The principal ranges used at Bisley today are as originally laid out in 1890 to accommodate modern full-bore rifle shooting.[28]
Museum of the National Rifle Association
The Museum of the NRA opened in 1997, some 90 years after it was first proposed.[29] Located on the first floor of the NRA Headquarters on Bisley Camp, it occupies the former stats offices - which became available after the introduction of computers greatly reduced the desk and filing space required for collating competition results.
A working group of volunteers was formed in 1991. The decision was quickly taken to focus on Association history, rather than being a general firearms museum. As well as housing some of the Association's largest and most unwieldy trophies, the museum contains a reference library and picture gallery, along with exhibits of historic firearms, medals, memorabilia and shooting equipment. A further study-collection of historic rifles is maintained which are not on display but available to researchers.[30]
Wimbledon Cup, a marksmanship trophy first awarded in 1866 in Wimbledon, and subsequently each year by the NRA of America.
References
^ abcd"Decision: Regulatory compliance case: National Rifle Association". 7 February 2020. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020. The NRA lets out part of its property at Bisley to tenants and private non-charitable clubs for use as club houses and for recreational shooting. The charity has been criticised for requiring non-charities to pay market rate for tenancies. It is appropriate for charities to do this, and indeed charity law requires trustees to get the best return on commercial tenancies with non-charities. However, public trust and confidence in the charity was put at risk as a result of property disputes.
^"Roger Fenton (1819-69) Mr Ross Junr., the Winner of the Queen's Prize Jul 1860". Royal Collection Trust. July 1860. Retrieved 17 May 2023. Edward Ross was the winner of the Gold Medal for the Queen's Prize at the first meeting of the National Rifle Association. The prize, worth £250, was open only to Volunteers. Ross was a member of the 7th North Yorkshire Volunteers. In 1865, Ross won the Silver Medal for the Queen's Prize.
^"Putney". Old and New London: Volume 6. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin. 1878. pp. 489–503. Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014 – via British History Online.
^Rosemary Meldrum. "A History of the Elcho Shield". National Rifle Club of Scotland. National Rifle Club of Scotland. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
^"Bisley" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 5. BISLEY, a village of Surrey, England, 3 1/2 m. N.W. of Woking. The ranges of the National Rifle Association were transferred from Wimbledon here in 1890.
^Duke of Cambridge (8 August 1887). "The National Rifle Association— Proposed Removal—Wimbledon Common—Observations". Hansard - Parliament.uk. Column 1503: UK Parliament. Retrieved 30 May 2023. I can assure my noble Friend that I entirely agree with him that the National Rifle Association has taken most extraordinary precautions to prevent accidents, and I believe there has been no external accident, ... Wimbledon is really now becoming London. Not only is London growing in that direction, but the villa, and even the town, population are extending in every direction. If the National Rifle Association expect long to remain at Wimbledon I believe they will find themselves very much mistaken, because the neighbourhood must extend and houses must be built;((cite web)): CS1 maint: location (link)
^"David Hossack". The Times. Time Media. 19 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2023. From 2000 to 2004, at a time when the National Rifle Association of the UK was in dire financial straits with debts of nearly £2 million pounds, Hossack gave his time and expertise to the National Shooting Centre, the commercial operating arm of the National Rifle Association. He helped to bring the operations of the NSC to better order, making a big contribution to the recovery plan and survival of the organisation.
^Robin Pizer. Marchington, James (ed.). "Chairman's Introduction"(PDF). NRA Journal. Blaze Publishing. XCI No. 1 (Spring 2012): 3. Retrieved 13 February 2023. The restructuring I spoke of in the last Journal has continued and further staff have sadly had to be made redundant as a result of our financial position. I would like to thank them very much for the service they have given. Further redundancies among the staff are not expected. One of our next tasks is to advertise for and appoint a new group chief executive.
^Andrew Mercer. Fallon, Colin (ed.). "Getting off on the front foot"(PDF). NRA Journal. Blaze Publishing. XCII No. 1 (Spring 2013): 6. Retrieved 13 February 2023. We will be concentrating on the basics for much of 2013 – regular mowing of the grass, proper cleaning of the ablutions, improving signage, and investing in IT systems that will allow our staff to improve the services we offer to members and visitors alike. We have created a new housekeeping department to deliver a proper cleaning service, now located in the Fultons block, and have started the recruitment of a crack team of Mr and Mrs Mops. Realistic plans for grass cutting and road repairs and upgrades are also being finalised.
^Andrew Mercer. Fallon, Colin (ed.). "Welcome: Fighting for shooting's future"(PDF). NRA Journal. Blaze Publishing. XCIII No. 2 (Summer 2014): 7. Retrieved 13 February 2023. We have recently upgraded the fibre cabling delivering broadband to the site, and I am informed we have increased our bandwidth from 2MB to 98MB. We are now testing a new WiFi network for the camp and intend to offer free access in exchange for an email address. Our accommodation team has been working hard to improve the quality of our rooms. Vast quantities of matt magnolia have been applied, 114 new mattresses with covers and pillows have been bought, and we have even started painting the exterior of the first batch of huts. The plans for the serviced caravan pitches have been approved, and we are preparing tender documents for works to begin in June.
^Andrew Mercer. Fallon, Colin (ed.). "New year developments"(PDF). NRA Journal. Blaze Publishing. XCIII No. 4 (Winter 2014): 4. Retrieved 13 February 2023. and I am informed we have increased our bandwidth from 2MB to 98MB. We are now testing a new WiFi network for the camp and intend to offer free access in exchange for an email address. Our accommodation team has been working hard to improve the quality of our rooms. Vast quantities of matt magnolia have been applied, 114 new mattresses with covers and pillows have been bought, and we have even started painting the exterior of the first batch of huts. The plans for the serviced caravan pitches have been approved, and we are preparing tender documents for works to begin in June.
^"Contact". Artists Rifle Club. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023. The Artists' Rifle Club retains no connection with the Artists Rifles Clubhouse, which houses the Mars and Minerva Club.
Martin, John. "The Transformation of Lowland Game Shooting in England and Wales in the Twentieth Century: The Neglected Metamorphosis." International Journal of the History of Sport 29.8 (2012): 1141-1158.
Osborne, Harvey, and Michael Winstanley. "Rural and urban poaching in Victorian England." Rural History 17.2 (2006): 187–212. online
