Stewardship, Apprenticeship

and the Future

As the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers moves into the second half of the Master's year, we spoke with Nicole Brocklebank-Fowler to reflect on the experiences, responsibilities and observations that have shaped her tenure so far.



Rather than looking back at the end of her year in office, this conversation captures a moment midway through it: what has surprised the Master, what she has learned, and where she believes the Company's greatest opportunities lie. While our discussion ranged from proof and the City's civic traditions to British gunmaking and heritage, two themes emerged repeatedly. Stewardship and apprenticeship.

A Year of Stewardship

For many outside the Livery movement, the office of Master appears ceremonial. Nicole's experience has been rather different.

"There was an overwhelming sense of responsibility," she reflects. "It is a huge honour. It is a huge privilege. But there is responsibility. Not just for the Livery and not just for wearing the beautiful Master's badge and robes. It is also about the responsibility for the history and heritage of the Company."

The Mastership is held for just one year, but it represents almost four centuries of continuity. For Nicole, that perspective has shaped the way she has approached every aspect of the role.

"You hold that office for a year, and it is about appreciating the stewardship that sits in your hands and making sure the Company is in a better place after your year than it was when you inherited it."

Asked what has surprised her most during the first half of her year, she returns to that same idea.

"I think until you get into the role, you don't really feel the weight of that. I don't mean that in a negative way. I mean it in a very positive way. It is a huge privilege and honour to have this role."

Unlike many previous Masters, Nicole did not come to the office from the trade or from the bench. A chartered surveyor by profession, her introduction to fine British guns began as a child growing up in Georgia, USA, where her father would regularly take her to the original Abercrombie & Fitch outfitter. She still remembers the 16-bore Holland & Holland she was allowed to hold in the shop, admiring its balance, engraving and craftsmanship.

After moving to the United Kingdom in 2001 and learning to shoot at Holland & Holland Shooting Ground, she eventually joined the Company through friendships formed within the shooting community. Looking back, she believes her different background has shaped how she views the Mastership today.

"I see my role more as an ambassador for that heritage during my year."

That ambassadorial role extends well beyond the Company itself.

"We want to make sure that British gunmakers are thriving and that they are seen in the best possible light within the industry and around the world, and that the Proof House and the Livery are a beacon for that."

Recognising Craftsmanship

When asked what has brought her the greatest satisfaction during the first half of her year, Nicole answers immediately.



"My absolute favourite thing I get to do as Master is handing over the Gunmaker and Master Gunmaker Certificates and Lifetime Achievement Awards. There have been a few tears and people having to clear their throats. It is so lovely to be able, on behalf of the Company, to recognise those people for the years and years they have spent honing and developing their craft."

The same applies to apprentices completing their training.

"To reward the hard work of our apprentices when they complete what used to be called their masterpiece is an enormous privilege."

That commitment to developing the next generation is supported by the Gunmakers Trust, whose work helps preserve and promote the traditional crafts of British gunmaking through apprenticeship, education and skills development. It is a practical expression of the Company's long-standing commitment to ensuring these specialist crafts continue to flourish.

Why Apprentices Matter

Recognition, however, is only part of the story. For Nicole, these occasions celebrate something much larger than an individual achievement. Throughout our conversation, apprenticeship emerged as one of the defining themes of her year.



The Company's role is not simply to celebrate craftsmanship, but to ensure it continues.

"If nobody trains the next actioner, apprentice barrel maker or engraver, then that is lost. I think that's where I have become a little protective of our apprentices, and why they mean so much to me, because I want to make sure those skills are not lost."

It is a concern rooted in experience rather than sentiment.

Nicole offers an unexpected comparison. Original black silk top hats can no longer be made because the specialist looms used to weave the silk were destroyed decades ago. The objects remain, but the manufacturing knowledge was almost entirely lost.

"If you lose that technology, it is gone forever. If you lose the skills, they are gone forever."

That observation extends naturally to British gunmaking.

The tools can be preserved. The guns can be collected. The archives can be catalogued. But unless knowledge is passed from one craftsperson to another, the craft itself cannot survive. For that reason the Master believes the industry should become more willing to show its work.

Rather than hiding workshops behind closed doors, she would like to see apprentices learning from masters, actions being filed, barrels being struck and repairs being explained to customers.

"It is about telling that story and making sure it is visible that those skills are being passed down."

She pauses before adding perhaps the most important point.

"These aren't skills you can learn online. This is not something you learn in a textbook. This is years and years of work on the bench."

Looking Ahead

Although much has been achieved during the first half of her year, Nicole's attention is already focused on what lies ahead. She hopes the Company continues to strengthen its profile within the City of London, to explain more clearly the continuing importance of proof, and to build momentum towards Gunmakers 400. Looking beyond the current year, Gunmakers 400 provides an opportunity not simply to celebrate the Company's remarkable history, but to present its continuing relevance to a wider audience. As plans continue to develop, the anniversary is intended to recognise four centuries of service while looking confidently towards the Company's future.

"I've explained proof more times than I could possibly imagine this year," she says with a smile. "But that's good. People know what we do now. We're about safety. We're about keeping people safe. We have that remit from Parliament."



As preparations continue for the remainder of her year, Nicole returns once more to the theme that has quietly underpinned our entire conversation.

Stewardship is temporary. Craftsmanship is handed on.

Institutions endure only because successive generations choose to strengthen them before passing them to those who follow. Asked what she hopes will define her year as Master, her answer is characteristically modest.

"I hope I'm remembered as a good ambassador for the Company... that the Livery and the Proof House are left in a better place than they were twelve months ago."

For a Company approaching its fourth century, it is a fitting ambition. Being Master is not simply about preserving the past; it is about ensuring that the next generation inherits a Company, a craft and a tradition that remain as relevant as ever.