The Sporting Lodge - Shooting Apparel and Accessories

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Telephone number+44 (0)15395 63594
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Our addressThe Sporting Lodge
Storth
Milnthorpe
Cumbria
England
LA7 7JA

History of Brady of Halesowen

The History of Brady and The Brady Range from The Sporting Lodge
Brady Bags were first made more than a hundred years ago when excellence in design, quality of materials and the finest craftsmanship made them the most sought-after sporting bags in the world.
More than a century later, the Brady tradition is still maintained. Brady Bags are designed to be supremely functional and are hand-made by craftsmen to ensure reliability in performance and durability in use.
The best shots and the keenest fishermen the world over find Brady Bags rewarding - time after time.
Brady bags are reknowned the world over. They produce some of the finest shooting, fishing and leisure bags and accessories in the world. The Sporting Lodge is celebrating fifty years selling Brady and supplies the full range and features hunting, fishing and travel bags, and, cartridge belts and bags on our site. We now offer the whole day, travel and office bag range.
The first Brady brothers were John and Albert who in 1877 started making leather gun cases in Price Street, Birmingham for 12/6 each, about 75p in today�s money.
Operating from Shadwell Street in Birmingham�s gun quarter in the 1930s they designed and made game bags, and a large selection of sporting accessories, but most particularly Ernest Brady designed and made a range of fishing bags all named after English rivers.
As a girl I well remember going into work one day in the 1950�s and finding the hallway full of what looked like a lot of broken-down cases and in some instances blood-stained game and fishing bags. Thinking they were all rubbish and that I should be deputed to put them in the dustbin, I luckily made some enquiries about the matter first. I discovered that they belonged to the Duke of Westminster and his son, who had just inherited them and Brady were to repair them and suitably initial each item.
I soon learned that sportsmen do not like anything to look new or brightly coloured and made only of natural materials.
Written by Helen Brady, daughter of Ernest Brady.
The Brady fishing bags were to become the mainstay of the company and the source of its prosperity and fame in future years. Handmade Brady gun cases were also greatly prized throughout the world, particularly by those who had Purdey shotguns. Oak and leather cases were made for movie and theatrical celebrities and royalty including the Sultan of Oman and the Duke of Westminster.
The bags and top quality leather goods are exported to the USA, Japan, France, Sweden, South Africa and Italy and of course, serve the home trade.
Several Brady fishing bags became sought after fashion items, particularly the Severn. Many celebrities were photographed at airports carrying them, and news men and photographers found the bags convenient to carry their heavy equipment around in. Brady moved their manufacturing operations from Halesowen and integrated production with Jeffries Saddlery, using the skills synonymous with the leather industry based in Walsall.
Lesley Taylor, the designer of Brady bags, joined the company in 2002, having spent the previous five years with Mulberry. Lesley has introduced new bags into the range which includes the "Discovery" range of bags which can be used as a travel item or as a fashion statement.
As in the 1930`s, Brady bags are still renowned for their quality and craftsmanship and Brady still has solid foundations with the fishing, hunting and shooting sectors who use their traditional game bags, cartridge bags, gun slips and covers.

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