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Sword made in Bedfont goes on sale for £2k

Posted by Ed Saunt on Jun 4, 09 03:55 PM in What's On

A sword made in Bedfont in the 17th Century has gone on sale for more than £2,000.
The 'Hounslow Hanger', which is thought to have been used in the English Civil War, is going for a song on auction website eBay for US$3,399 (£2,107.84).

It was made at the Hounslow Sword Mill - which was set up by Charles I in 1630 on what is now The Duke of Northumberland's River - but is now being sold by an American collector and dealer.

The sword smiths, who came from Solingen in Germany, produced about 1,000 swords a month at the mill and some of them can be seen at the Gunnersbury Park Museum.

Many of the swords were used during the English Civil War between 1642-9 but during the war the mill was taken by Parliamentary forces and converted to a gunpowder mill in 1654.

Greg Walter, who is selling the sword, is a collector in the USA but regularly visits the UK to search for antique weapons.

He bought the sword in the USA for US$2,500 (£1,527.18) and hopes to make a profit by selling it on eBay.

He said: "The quality of the iron and silver work on Hounslow swords was not the best, and for this reason few survive in good condition.

"Very few are marked in any way that would prove they were made at Hounslow, however, the distinctive hilt style is what determines the type, which was known to have come from Hounslow.

"In the case of this sword, the inlaid silver decoration is typically English and is found on other sword types from 1630-1660 made in England."

The listing can be viewed here.

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