Royal Armouries Museum
Britain’s oldest museum has grown from its origins as the main royal and national arsenal at the Tower of London into a family of museums located throughout the United Kingdom and in North America.
These museums are home to the UK’s national collection of arms and armour which includes the national collection of artillery at Fort Nelson. Louisville, Kentucky, USA is our latest addition. The Royal Armouries collection consists of some 70,000 examples of arms, armour and artillery dating from antiquity to the present day. It includes royal armours of the Tudor and Stuart kings; arms and armour of the English Civil Wars, including the Armoury from Littlecote House; British and foreign military weapons from the Board of Ordnance and MOD Pattern Room collections; hunting and sporting weapons, as well as an exceptional collection of oriental arms and armour. The Royal Armouries also has a significant collection of fine and decorative arts, and a special collection of material relating to the Tower of London, including antique prints and drawings, paintings, early photographs, stereoscopes and lantern slides, and rare books.
The Royal Armouries library contains material relating to the history, development and use of arms, armour, artillery and fortifications, and to the Tower of London.
It has special collections of original military manuals, drill books, and fencing manuals. The collection amounts to some 30,000 books and pamphlets, 10,000 journals and magazines, and 6,000 auction sales catalogues.
There is a large Picture Library containing some 70,000 images of objects in the collection, which are available for purchase and reproduction. The Archives contains records relating to the Museum, collections of research material from scholars such as Sir James Mann and Howard Blackmore, as well as the records of the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield.
VISITORS INFORMATION:
Royal Armouries Museum - Leeds
Admission is FREE
Open daily: 10am – 5pm
Closed 24-26 December
Royal Armouries Museum - Fort Nelson
Admission is FREE
Summer:
Daily: 10am – 5pm
(Wednesdays 11am – 5pm)
Winter:
Daily 10.30am – 4pm
(Wednesdays 11.30am – 4pm)
Closed 24-26 December
Royal Armouries Museum - Tower of London
Admission fee payable for entry to the Tower of London.
Summer:
Tuesday – Saturday: 9am – 5pm
Sunday – Monday: 10am – 5.30pm
Winter:
Tuesday – Saturday: 9am – 4.30pm
Sunday – Monday: 10am – 4.30pm
Closed 24-26 December
Royal Armouries Museum
Armouries Drive
Leeds
LS10 1LT
Royal Armouries Museum
HM Tower Of London
London
EC3N 4AB
Royal Armouries Museum
Fort Nelson
Portsdown Hill Road
Fareham
PO17 6AN