The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

for full bore rifle and pistol

shooting sports Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Registered as a United Kingdom charity, its objectives are to "promote and encourage

marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-th ...

throughout the King’s dominions in the interest of defence and the permanence of the volunteer and auxiliary forces, naval, military and air." The formal purposes of the charity are to promote the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown, or the police, fire and rescue or ambulance services. The

National Shooting Centre The National Shooting Centre is the UK's largest shooting sports complex, comprising several shooting ranges as well as the large "Bisley Camp" complex of accommodation, clubhouses and support services. The centre is located near the village of ...

at Bisley is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the association.

History

The National Rifle Association was founded in 1859, 12 years before its better known American namesake. The Association was originally based on Putney Heath & Wimbledon Common. Its founding aim was to raise the funds for an annual national rifle meeting (now known as the Imperial Meeting) "for the promotion of marksmanship in the interests of Defence of the Realm and permanence of the Volunteer Forces, Navy, Military and Air". In 1860, Queen Victoria fired the opening shot of the first Imperial Meeting. The

Whitworth rifle The Whitworth rifle was an English-made percussion rifle used in the latter half of the 19th century. A single-shot muzzleloader with excellent long-range accuracy for its era, especially when used with a telescopic sight, the Whitworth rifle ...

used and the target can be seen in the Museum of the NRA at Bisley. Charles Robert Crosse, Vanity Fair, 1912-07-10

The Imperial Meeting quickly gained significance in high society. In 1878

Edward Walford Edward Walford (1823–1897) was a British magazine editor and a compiler of educational, biographical, genealogical and touristic works, perhaps best known for his 6 Volumes of ''Old and New London'' (the first two of which were written by Walt ...

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 A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

shot for by our great Public Schools, or the Annual Rifle Match between the Houses of Lords and Commons."'' Key matches such as the Elcho were significant social occasions on par with The Boat Race. Shooters and officials were often household names, and featured or even caricatured in society publications such as

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

. The Association moved from Wimbledon to Bisley in 1890 after encroaching housing development around Wimbledon caused concerns about the ongoing ability to safely operate the ranges. In the same year,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

granted the National Rifle Association a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

of incorporation. 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. 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. A road on Bisley Camp is named in her honour. The

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

gave the association formal regulatory advice in 2019 because it found the NRA had acted outside its charitable objects when it had promoted civilian recreational shooting. In 2020 the Charity Commission stated that the association had made progress but it is being kept under close regulatory scrutiny.

The National Shooting Centre

The

is a wholly-owned trading subsidiary of the National Rifle Association. 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 {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. Although these are operated directly by the NSC and are not strictly military ranges, they do utilise the MoD's Pirbright Danger Area (which serves the adjacent barracks and 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 Cannock Chase (), often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by Forestry E ...

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.

Museum of the National Rifle Association

The Museum of the NRA opened in 1997, some 90 years after it was first proposed. 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.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Venues of the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic modern pentathlon venues Olympic shooting venues Sports governing bodies in the United Kingdom Rifle associations Shooting sports in the United Kingdom Sports organizations established in 1859 1859 establishments in the United Kingdom Shooting sports organizations Regions of the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations National Rifle Association (United Kingdom)

History

The National Shooting Centre

Museum of the National Rifle Association

See also

References

Further reading

External links