Purdey – Take a Virtual Tour of Audley House

Audley House, 57-58 South Audley Street, Mayfair is a Mecca for shooters. It is the home of James Purdey & Sons, the prestigious brand that has been supplying shooters in Britain and around the world since 1814. Steeped in history, Audley House is well worth a visit (however, current COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have made this impossible). Thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can now tour the entire Purdey showroom from the comfort of your own home. What better way is there to spend some time during lockdown?

A Brief History

Audley House was designed by architect William Lambert and completed by B.E. Nightingale under the instruction of James Purdey. On 1 January 1883 James Purdey & Sons was relocated here from 312 1/2 Oxford Street. It was quickly acknowledged as the most prestigious gun shop in the country. In July 1889 Land and Water called it a ‘Palace amongst Gun Manufactories’.

Audley House has earned its place in British history and not just because of the guns produced there. The building bears the scars of WWII – you can still see the shrapnel marks from a German bomb dropped in 1941 in the marble pillars outside and in one of the walls inside – and the infamous Long Room was used by Eisenhower’s Deputy Chief of Staff, General Bedell-Smith, to plan the D-Day landings.

The Tour

The Purdey 360 experience allows you to tour the entire showroom, including the famous Long Room. Unfortunately the ‘well’ has long since been covered over so you can no longer watch the craftsmen working below, but you can view the numerous historical guns and artefacts in here. You can also view Purdey’s current gun, accessory and clothing collections as you virtually wonder around.

As you tour Audley House there are a number of tags that contain information about the building and Purdey’s products. If you hover or click on these they will launch an information window.

Even having visited Audley House on numerous occasions over the years I still found myself looking at everything with the wonder that I had when I first visited. In my opinion it is well worth a visit, either virtually or, when COVID-19 restrictions allow, physically.