William Tranter - The End of His Life, and His Legacy

The End of His Life, and His Legacy

Tranter retired in 1885 and died on January 7, 1890. His factory was leased by his friend George Kynoch and was renamed The Kynoch Gun Factory. In 1888 the name was changed to the Aston Arms Factory, which had ceased by 1900 when the factory was occupied by the Clipper Automatic Tyre Co. The factory was ultimately demolished in 1961.

William Tranter's own son, William Grosvener Tranter, registered at least two firearms patents but appears to have been only slightly interested in the gun industry. However William's son-in-law, Thomas William Watson, was joined his by brother in 1884 to form the arms company of Watson Brothers. William's nephews, Walter Tranter and Alfred William Thompson and Thomas Musgrove Tranter formed an arms firm called Tranter Bros. Gunmakers in Birmingham in 1900. The firm, which also sold bicycles in the 1890s, closed in 1957.