Posts: 297 Location: Indiana
Sat 06 Mar, 2010 12:50 pm
Well, I went to the Tower today and was hugely disappointed. Most of their armoury seems to have been put away for remodeling! Unbelievable, isn't it? Huge rooms of it were roped off. The famous Henry VIII armours weren't there, nor any other of the many armours I have seen in photographs as being there. I didn't see any polearms or swords either except for two giant ceremonial bearing swords. There were signs around, saying that the armour section would re-open in April! There was some interesting stuff there - for instance, a lot of cannons and muskets - didn't really realize until today how HUGE infantry muskets of the 1500s and 1600s were until I saw them up close. But I didn't like the way everything was presented. It all struck me as sort of child-oriented in the way the attractions were labeled and the little gimmicks everywhere. Makes sense, since I guess they have to appeal to children and families with kids to get the crowds in.
There were a few armours in the "line of kings" - all of them were spectacularly uninteresting 1600s-era harnesses:
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The gilded cuirassier armour of Charles I was also there, though it had clearly been moved from where it normally was. It shook every time people walked around it. It was in a display case and was tough to get a good photograph of because of the bad lighting and the glass. Here is a close up of the helmet, which looks to be of Dutch manufacture.
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Will go to the Wallace tomorrow.