any old Cantabrians on here

[Gilbert]

just bought what i hope is a nice 10ft float rod labelled Gallyons of Cambridge . it has a nice trout pic incorporated with the name. and should look the dogz nutz when it's sorted . whole cane with a split cane tip.
i can#t find Gallyons related to anything fishy but there was a Gunsmith of high repute of that name in Cambridge .i guess they sold fishing tackle as well.
this has to be a pretty rare rod . how that would affect the value is anyone's guess but i would like to see a profit there one day.

can anyone add a bit of info ?
G

[Rutilus]

Gallyons had a gun business in Norwich (Bedford Street) from the 60's and are still there to this day. Back then they also sold fishing tackle, especially fly and lure gear with Abu and Hardy being featured. I well remember buying an ex. display Abu 506 from them and there was an extremely helpful salesman there who was very patient with this at the time very young angler who wanted to fish for every thing that swims and using all methods. Spending pocket money on Abu lures one minute then selecting a couple of dry ties the next.
Last time I was down there the shop seemed to specialise in up market country clothing but I think they still have interests in the shooting world and a local clay shooting establishment.
I'm sure they still sold cane rods in the early days and that rod might well have been made up by an 'in house' person from bought in blanks.

[Gilbert]

Gallyons had a gun business in Norwich (Bedford Street) from the 60's and are still there to this day. Back then they also sold fishing tackle, especially fly and lure gear with Abu and Hardy being featured. I well remember buying an ex. display Abu 506 from them and there was an extremely helpful salesman there who was very patient with this at the time very young angler who wanted to fish for every thing that swims and using all methods. Spending pocket money on Abu lures one minute then selecting a couple of dry ties the next.
Last time I was down there the shop seemed to specialise in up market country clothing but I think they still have interests in the shooting world and a local clay shooting establishment.
I'm sure they still sold cane rods in the early days and that rod might well have been made up by an 'in house' person from bought in blanks.

thanks for your reply .

Cambridge on the decal has to date the rod to pre 1960 . the gunsmith business was highly respected and obtained a Royal Warrant in the '50s according to Mr. Google .
hopefully the rod will be as good as their guns .i doubt it will be possible to date the rod accurately but you never know. there is a bit of writing on the butt that the pic does not show in it's entirety . i wonder what it says !
whatever , it is an interesting specimen that i got for little more than a few quid . fingers Xd it will be an interesting project.

[Rutilus]

I well remember Richard Gallyon being in the Norwich shop in my youth and note that he retired and sold the business after no family member wanted to take it on. Their guns were always highly regarded and all their merchandise tended to be 'up market' so I suspect the cane to be equally so. A nice find and very interesting to an old Norfolk boy here!
By the way, what was it in the decal that gives a pre-1960 dating?

[Martin James]

It was the go to shop when I was shooting on the Wash Estuary, with Kenzie Thorpe as our guide or Welney washes with Josh Scott in the early days. My grandfather had a 40 year lease on a large area of the Wash purchased at the end of WW2. Later part of the wash was taken over by Sir Peter Scots Wildfowl Trust. We had the other side of the road. Also Welney was a good area for tench bream rudd and pike, great time long remembered to this day

[Gilbert]

I well remember Richard Gallyon being in the Norwich shop in my youth and note that he retired and sold the business after no family member wanted to take it on. Their guns were always highly regarded and all their merchandise tended to be 'up market' so I suspect the cane to be equally so. A nice find and very interesting to an old Norfolk boy here!
By the way, what was it in the decal that gives a pre-1960 dating?

Just the word "Cambridge" --i think they were gone from the City by 1960 so the rod should be prior to that.Wiki infers they moved to Norwich in the early '50s but it is not specific . the rod may have some clues - i must wait to see what i have

[Rutilus]

The latest reference to the Cambridge premises I can find is 1962, Gun Makers and Fishing Tackle dealers.
The Norwich premises was taken on in 1965 and became named Gallyon's in 1966.

[Gilbert]

The latest reference to the Cambridge premises I can find is 1962, Gun Makers and Fishing Tackle dealers.
The Norwich premises was taken on in 1965 and became named Gallyon's in 1966.

Ah !......... thanks for that Rutilus
G

[Beresford]

Gallyons Cambridge was still open in 1975 and certainly until a few years after then. I don't remember exactly when they shut but it might have even still been around in 1980. My first rod and reel came from there. The staff were brilliant and always gave me a discount on every item I subsequently bought – I still have most of it to this day. I was very sad to see the shop close down. It had a beautiful wooden panelled interior and was very close to The Round Church, Bridge Street. I can't recall exactly but I think the guns were on one side of the shop and the fishing tackle towards the back. Clothing was sort of 'found' upstairs. I bought dozens of flies there and a wooden fly box that I remember was priced at £4.95 – before the usual discount was applied. I suspect I paid about £4.50 for it. I loved this mode of pricing and even back then I suspected I got a discount as I was a polite little lad!

They had shops in both Cambridge and Norwich at the same time.

I don't recall ever seeing a split cane rod for sale during the time I knew the shop. I used a cane fly rod so think I might have noticed especially since I remember going to Foster's in Ashbourne in 1975 and being excited having never seen new cane rods for sale. I'm fairly sure Les Beecroft was one of the staff who later went on to open his own shop when Gallyons closed in Cambridge. Beecroft's was on the Cherry Hinton road and must have been open for at least 20 years. Beecroft was a skilled rod builder and he finished quite a few rods for my father and me.

[Gilbert]

the wee beastie has arrived and what a delightful little thing it is. 10'6" hollow built , with a spliced taper at the top of the middle and a split cane tip. all ferrules in good order .it will sit nicely with the Lucky Strike and Record Breaker
wraps are grade A nylon but i don't think that can be original as the inters are clumsy work.the few remaining rings are bronzed .i have no idea where i would find a set of those . so common or garden high bells will have to suffice . going by the handle and ferrules it has not seen a lot of use
the action is all in the tip as you would expect . nothing there to date it . my guess is early '50s . brass fittings may support that -who can tell......Beresford's Mr Beecroft may have known
anyone for dace bashing on the Cam ?