Royal Armouries Museum

General information:

Royal Armouries has three museums across the United Kingdom and cares for one of the most important national collections of arms and armour in the world.

Our collection is displayed and housed in our historical home at the White Tower in the Tower of London, at the purpose-built Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, and at Fort Nelson in Hampshire.

We have a long history, dating back to the Middle Ages. Our celebrated core collection originated in the nation’s working arsenal, which was assembled over many centuries at the Tower of London.

The main galleries in Leeds include:

• Tournament Gallery, including the tournament armours of a young King Henry VIII designed for the Field of Cloth of Gold, Emperor Maximilian I’s armour and the armours of some of Queen Elizabeth I’s most famous courtiers
• War Gallery, including the Warwick Shaffron, the oldest surviving European horse armour, a model of the Battle of Agincourt, a longbow from the Mary Rose wreck, English Civil Wars armour, Maxim machine gun and a Thompson submachine gun
• Hunting Gallery, including the ‘Tula garniture’, an 18th-century set of elegantly decorated hunting weapons that belonged to Elizabeth Petrovna, Empress of Russia
• Self-Defence Gallery, including a ‘vampire killing kit’, M-41A pulse rifle from ‘Aliens’, an anti-garotting pistol from Belgium and a 17/18th century German executioner’s sword
• Oriental Gallery, including the Indian elephant armour, the Ming Sword and Japanese armour and katanas

These are just a few select examples of the collections we have displayed in Leeds.

Events programme:

The Royal Armouries in Leeds also has an active events programme, with a number of key events taking place in the museum’s purpose-built outdoor Tiltyard. The museum’s major event is its yearly jousting tournament. This usually takes place over the Easter Bank Holiday; however in 2020 it will take place in May to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold.

The museum is also unique in hosting a daily programme of talks and performances all year around. Every day visitors can see up to six live talks, theatrical performances and combat demonstrations, accompanied by opportunities to handle the museum’s handling collection of arms and armour.

The museum is free to visit, however some special events carry a charge. It is open 10 am – 5 pm daily and closed between the 24 – 26 December.

Further information

https://royalarmouries.org/

https://twitter.com/Royal_Armouries

https://www.instagram.com/royalarmouriesmuseum/

https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArmouriesMuseum/

Katie Canning