Royal Armouries Museum

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Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds: Looking up the main stairwell in the Hall of Steel

War Gallery in Leeds

The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a national museum which displays the National Collection of Arms and Armour. It is part of the Royal Armouries family of museums, the other sites being the Tower of London, its traditional home, Fort Nelson, Hampshire, for the display of its National Collection of Artillery, and permanent galleries within the Frazier History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.^[1] The Royal Armouries is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.^[2]

The Royal Armouries Museum is a £42.5 million purpose built museum located in Clarence Dock that opened in 1996. Its collection was previously on display or in storage at the Tower of London where the Royal Armouries still maintains a presence and displays in the White Tower.^[3]

As at all UK National Museums, entry is free, though certain extra attractions are charged for.

Until recently the Museum used live presentations in addition to the static displays to explain the collection. Due to a reorganisation of the Museum in 2010/11, prompted by funding cuts, the interpretation department closed on 31 March 2011.^[4]

Construction

The museum is housed in a new building designed by Derek Walker and Buro Happold^[5] and built by Alfred McAlpine.^[6]

Location

The Boulevard at Clarence Dock, looking towards the Royal Armouries

The rear of the museum.

Situated close to the city centre on the bank of the River Aire the museum is among many buildings built in the same era that saw a rejuvenation of the Leeds waterfront. It is located on Armouries Square, in Clarence Dock. Road access is by Armouries Drive and Chadwick Street.^[7]

Features

Main building

The Royal Armouries Museum itself was designed from the inside out. The redisplay of the collections in a thematic structure and the identity, size and basic story-lines of the new galleries were all created as part of Strategy 2000.

The design for the new building took those spaces, together with the study collections, conservation workshops and library as the basis of its overall layout. The ceiling heights of the new building were designed to accommodate the longest staff weapons in the collections, displayed vertically, and the principal lift to move the largest object.

In addition to the five original galleries which house 5,000 objects in the permanent displays and the more recent Peace Gallery, the museum also includes the Hall of Steel, a giant staircase whose walls are decorated with trophy displays composed of 2,500 objects reminiscent of the historical trophy displays erected by the Tower Armouries from the 17th century.^[8]

The Museum is five floors in height with four of the galleries arranged over two floors. Access to the first four floors can be gained from all the lifts. Access to the fifth floor is only possible from the designated red lift. All lifts are located in the reception area, The main entrance to the Museum is accessed from Armouries Square.

War

Assorted weaponry on display at the Royal Armouries.

With displays^[9] dedicated to:

Ancient and Medieval warfare
17th and 18th centuries
19th and 20th centuries

Peace - farewell to arms?

This gallery^[10] can be found within the War Gallery and looks at the potential for a future free of arms, looking at disarmament and concepts such as détente. This gallery is in partnership with the Peace Museum in nearby Bradford.

Hunting

This gallery^[11] deals with the potentially contentious subject of hunting with displays dedicated to:

Hunting through the ages
Hunting as sport

Oriental

A gallery with displays^[12] dedicated to:

South and South-east Asia
China and Japan
Central Asia, Islam and India

Tournament

A large gallery on two floors showing a variety of arms and armour from the days of jousting.^[13]

Self defence

This gallery has a number of different displays^[14] dedicated to:

Arms and armour as art
The armed civilian
IMPACT - A poignant and challenging exhibition documents through photographs, personal statements and video, the effects of gun crime on a community.

Arena

Running alongside the River Aire for 150 metres, with seating on the land-ward side, is the Arena. Here, weather permitting, exhibitions of military and sporting skill at arms, including jousting are hosted.

Though the Museum no longer has its own horses, two important jousting contests each year are still held with competitors from all over the world.^[15]

Easter is the height of the Jousting calendar when the Arena hosts a four day international competition between up to four jousting teams. The four teams compete from Good Friday to Easter Sunday against each other with the tournament final on Easter Monday. The winning team is awarded the Sword of Honour at the end of the competition.

Summer sees the Jousting season close with the last tournament of the year, an individual joust with jousters from all over the world competing for the H.M. Queen's Golden Jubilee Trophy.

Flags

The flags flown by the canal at the Royal Armouries are the:^[16]

Funding cuts

In March 2011, following a 15% reduction in the Royal Armouries's funding,^[17] seventeen members of staff "including all of the museum’s expert horse riders, professional actors and stable staff"^[4] lost their jobs.

In popular culture

The museum is mentioned in the Kaiser Chiefs song "Team Mate", from the bands début album, Employment.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

Official website

Coordinates: 53°47′31″N 1°31′56″W / 53.791866°N 1.532258°W / 53.791866; -1.532258

v t e West Yorkshire museums

City of Bradford museums	Baildon: Bracken Hall Countryside Centre and Museum Bradford: Bolling Hall Museum Bradford Industrial Museum Cartwright Hall National Media Museum Peace Museum Haworth: Brontë Parsonage Museum Ilkley: Ilkley Toy Museum Manor House Museum Keighley: Cliffe Castle Museum East Riddlesden Hall Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Museum of Rail Travel Saltaire: Salts Mill

Calderdale museums	Brighouse: Smith Art Gallery Halifax: Bankfield Museum Dean Clough Eureka! The National Children's Museum Hebden Bridge: Gibson Mill Heptonstall: Heptonstall Museum Shibden: Shibden Hall

Kirklees museums	Batley: Bagshaw Museum Birstall: Oakwell Hall Dewsbury: Dewsbury Bus Museum Dewsbury Museum Gomersal: Red House Museum Huddersfield: Castle Hill Colne Valley Museum Rugby League Heritage Centre Tolson Museum Marsden: Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre

City of Leeds museums	Aberford: Lotherton Hall Leeds: Abbey House Museum Armley Mills Industrial Museum Bramham Park Harewood House Henry Moore Institute in Leeds Kirkstall Abbey Leeds Art Gallery Leeds City Museum Leeds College of Art Middleton Railway Museum Royal Armouries Museum Temple Newsam Thackray Museum Thwaite Mills Museum Otley: Otley Museum

City of Wakefield museums	Netherton: National Coal Mining Museum for England Nostell: Nostell Priory Pontefract: Pontefract Museum Wakefield: The Hepworth Wakefield Wakefield Museum

v t e Attractions along the Trans Pennine Trail

West	Ainsdale National Nature Reserve Chorlton Water Park Dunham Massey Hall Halewood Country Park Ardotalia (Melandra Castle) Roman Fort National Wildflower Centre Pickerings Pasture Country Park Reddish Vale Sale Water Park Speke Hall Tate Gallery Walton Hall

Central	Anglers Country Park Elsecar Heritage Centre Magna Monk Bretton Priory Poolsbrook Country Park Rother Valley Country Park Rothwell Colliery Country Park Royal Armouries RSPB Old Moor Sheffield Winter Gardens Thackray Museum Thwaite Mills Wentworth Woodhouse Westwood Country Park Worsbrough Mill

East	Conisbrough Castle Cusworth Hall Hornsea Mere National Railway Museum Selby Abbey The Deep York Minster

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