That's not ugly! It's just a little over-processed.

If the barrel was originally marked .38 S&W and was later stamped for .38 Special, it will chamber .38 Special. The question is whether it chambers ONLY .38 Special. Since it is a Parker-Hale conversion, one of the better ones, the chamber holes might have been overbored and sleeved so that they will now except only .38 Special rounds. You should be able to discern a sleeve end if you look closely at the front of each chamber of the cylinder. The "1.150" mark is the length of the .38 Special cartridge, another indicator that the gun was modified to take that round.

If you can't discern a sleeve, look into the chambers from the rear. A cylinder whose chambers were simply lengthened will show two case-length rings in each chamber -- one about 3/4" inch from the rear of the cylinder (.38 S&W) and the other about 1 1/8" from the rear of the cylinder (.38 Special).

If the chambers show two rings, I would shoot only .38 S&W in it. If it shows only one ring over an inch down the chamber, that suggests that the chambers were sleeved whether you can see the end of the sleeve or not. It will chamber and shoot .38 Special, but should NOT chamber .38 S&W.

If it is a two-ring gun, it will chamber and shoot both rounds, but .38 Special cases will slightly swell and (if the brass is hard) possibly split along the two-thirds of each case just above the base.

There is probably a little square after the "4 TONS PER" stamp. That stands for "square inch." Other markings are probably British proof stamps, which were required when military weapons were tested and released for civilian consumption.

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David Wilson