THE HORSE ARMOURY.

The ancient records of the kingdom contain many documents relating to the warlike stores preserved in and issued from the Tower. The idea of exhibiting armour on equestrian statues of our kings, seems to have originated in Charles II's reign. Armour having been superseded at the close of the 17th century, by the general use of fire-arms, the stores were returned to the Tower. Additions were made from various sources, until the collection contained most interesting specimens of armour and of weapons, of almost every age of English History. But discrepancies and anachronisms prevailed in the arrangement. William the Conqueror appeared in plate armour, which was unknown for centuries after his death; and Henry V. was equipped partly in the armour of Charles I. and partly in that of Henry VII! At length, about 30 years since, Sir S. Meyrick's "Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armoury," threw light upon the obscure subject, drew public attention to it, and finally induced government to request Sir S. Meyrick to undertake the historical arrangement of the Armouries. It was also decided to erect the New Horse Armoury, which was completed in 1826. This structure is about 150 feet in length and 34 in breadth, and situated on the south side of the White Tower. The windows are of stained glass, the centre compartments of which are ancient, and contain coats of arms, and scriptural subjects: the latter exceedingly well painted. Several military trophies and emblems adorn the walls and ceiling. The centre of the apartment is occupied by equestrian figures, wearing suits of armour of various periods from the time of Edward I. to James II. (1272-1688.) Each suit is assigned for the sake of chronology, to some King or knight, but none are known to have been worn by the persons to whom they are assigned, except in a very few instances, (such as Henry VIII,; Dudley, Earl of Leicester; Henry, Prince of Wales; and Charles I.) We cannot devote sufficient space to enumerate the whole of this interesting collection, but the following must claim our especial notice. In the centre of this gallery, a suit of the time of Edward I. (1272-1307), consisting of a hauberk with sleeves and chausses, and a hood with camail; the emblazoned surcoat and baudric are modern; the spurs are prick-spurs. Suit of the time of Henry VI., (1422-1461) the back and breastplates are flexible armour, the sleeves and skirt are of chain mail, the gauntlets are fluted, the helmet is a salade armed with a frontlet, and surmounted by a crest. Suit of the time of Edward IV,; (1461-1483) the vamplate or guard of the tilting-lance is ancient, the war-saddle is of a somewhat later date. Suit of ribbed armour of the time of Richard III., (1483-85) worn by the Marquis of Waterford at the Eglintoun tournament. Suit of fluted armour of German fabric, of the time of Henry VII., (1485-1509,) the knight dismounted; the helmet is called a burgonet, and was invented by the Burgundians. Suit of fluted armour of the same reign; the armour of the horse is complete all but the flanchards. Suit of damasked armour, known to have been worn by Henry VIII., 15091547); the stirrups are curious from their great size. Two suits of the same reign, called Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk; and Edward Clinton, Earl of Lincoln. Suit in central recess, very fine, and originally gilt, made to commemorate the union of Henry VIII. and Katherine of Arragon. "The badges of this King and Queen, the rose and pomegranate, are engraved on various parts of the armour. On the fans of the genouillères is the Sheaf of Arrows, the device adopted by Ferdinand, the father of Katherine, on his conquest of Granada. Henry's badges, the Portcullis, the Fleur-delys, and the Red Dragon, also appear; and on the edge of the lamboys or skirts are the initials of the royal pair, "H. K.," united by a true-lover's knot. The same letters similarly united by a knot, which includes also a curious love-badge formed of a half rose and half pomegranate, are engraved on the croupière of the horse."

In order to avoid confusion, and render our subject more interesting to those unskilled in the mys

tical terms of the armoury, we shall here subjoin a list of the various parts composing a complete suit of armour.

1. The Helmet. For the head. 2. The Gorget. Covering the neck. 3. The Pauldrons. Defending the shoulders. 4. The Rere-braces. For the upper part of the arm. 5. The Vam-braces. For the lower part of the arm. 6. The Elbow-pieces. Uniting the two former pieces. 7. The Gauntlets. For the hands. 8. The Breast Plate. 9. The Back Plate. 10. Tacets and Tassets. Flaps of steel hanging loosely from the breast-plate. 11. Garde-de-Reines. A similar piece of armour depending from the back plate. 12. Tailles. Small tile-like pieces of steel, hanging over the hips and lying upon the armour, for the thigh. 13. Genouillères. Coverings for the knees. 14. Jambs. Coverings for the legs. 15. Sollerets. A sort of shoes of steel.

The armour used in battle was neither so strong nor so complete as that worn in the lists. The additional pieces for the tournament were:-16. The Placcate. A second breast-plate worn over the first 17. The Volante-Piece. Worn over the lower part of the helmet. 18. The Grande Garde. Covering the breast and left shoulder. 19. The Shoulder Shield. Worn in front of the left shoulder. 20. The Garde-Bras. Covering the left arm. 21. The Tilting Gauntlet. For the bridle arm. 22. The Ankle Guard.

In tilting, the combatants passed each other on the left side, hence great care was taken to defend it. The horse armour consisted of-1. Chanfron. For the horse's head. 2. Poitrail. For the breast. 3. Manefere. Worn over the neck. 4. Flanchard. Over the Flanks. 5. Croupière. Over the haunches.

Considerable alterations had taken place in armour since the time of Edward the First. Suits of mixed chain and plate armour were introduced in the reign of Edward the Second. The plates were worn on the arms and legs. In Edward the Third's reign, armour became very splendid, so that knights, who might otherwise have been taken prisoners, were killed for the sake of their spoil. The finest suits were from Milan. In the reign of Henry V., the hero of Agincourt, complete armour of plate came into use. Chain mail was first introduced in the reign of Henry III. (1216-72) by the Crusaders, from Asia, where it is worn to this day. It is constructed of a number of little rings which interlace one another, so as to form in themselves a connected garment. This style of armour was a vast improvement upon that used at the time of the Norman Conquest.

Body armour was made of leather, cut into small pieces in the form of fish-scales, or of flat rings of steel, both of which used to be sewn on to cloth or deer-skin. The leather armour was sometimes painted of various colours. The shield was kite-shaped; the offensive arms were the long-cutting sword, and the lance, ornamented with its gonfalon or streamer.

Returning from our digression, we next notice-Suit of Edward VI., (1547-1553,) embossed and embellished with the badges of Burgundy and Granada, and formerly exhibited as the suit of Edward the Black Prince. Suit assigned to Francis Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon, (1555). Suit actually worn by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, of the time of Queen Elizabeth; the Earl's initials, R. D. are engraved on the genouillères, and his cognizance of the Bear and Ragged Staff on the chanfron of the horse. Suit assigned to Sir Henry Lea, (1570) and formerly exhibited as the suit of William the Conqueror. Suit assigned to Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, (1581) and worn by the King's champion at the coronation of George II. Suit of the time of James I., formerly shown as the suit of Henry IV. Suits assigned to Sir Horace Vere, and Thomas, Earl of Arundel, of the time of James I. Suit actually made for Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son of James I., richly gilt and engraved with battles, sieges, &c. Suit assigned to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, the favourite of James I.

Suit made for Charles I., when Prince of Wales. Suit assigned to Wentworth, Earl of Stafford. Suit presented to Charles I., when Prince of Wales, by the Armoury Company of the City of London; this suit (richly gilt) was laid on the coffin of the great Duke of Marlborough at his first interment in Westminster Abbey; the face of the King was carved by Grinling Gibbons. Suit, with burgonet, assigned to Monk, Duke of Albemarle. Suit assigned to James II., but evidently of William III.'s reign, from the W. R. engraved on several parts of it; the face was carved by Grinling Gibbons for Charles II. We further remark in other parts of the gallery and in the cabinets, suit of the time of Henry VIII., formerly exhibited as John of Gaunt's. Suit, "rough from the hammer," said in the old inventories to have belonged to Henry VIII. Asiatic suit, (platform, north side,) from Tong Castle, in Shropshire, probably of the age of the Crusades, and the oldest armour here. "Anticke headpiece," with ram's horns and spectacles on it, assigned in the old accounts to Will Somers, Henry VIII.'s jester, and probably worn by him. Ancient warder's horn of carved ivory. Helmet, belt, straight sword, and scimitar of Tippoo Saib. Maltese cannon, of exquisite workmanship, (“ Philip Lattarellus, delin. et sculp. 1773") taken by the French in 1798, and while on its passage from Malta to Paris, captured by Captain Foote, of the Seahorse frigate; the barrel is covered with figures in alto relievo; in one part is the portrait of the Grand Master of Malta; the centre of each wheel represents the sun.

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ARMOURY

Is entered by a staircase from the north-east corner of the Horse Armoury. This collection was formerly called the Spanish Armoury, from the fable of its having been formed from the spoils of the Armada. The name has, however, been changed to the more appropriate title of Queen Elizabeth's Armoury, most of the weapons contained in it being of the period of her reign, or of those immediately preceding. It is altogether a very interesting collection, and contains a great variety of all the weapons in use in Europe, during the period preceding the introduction of fire-arms-the bill, the glaive, the guisanne, the ranseur, the spetum, the spontoon, the boar-spear, the partizan, pike, halbert, &c., with many curiosities of that period, relating to warfare; and at one end of the room is a figure of Queen Elizabeth, seated on a cream-coloured horse, held by a page: she is in a dress in imitation of that worn by her in the procession to St. Paul's, when she went there in great state, to return thanks for deliverance from Spanish thraldom,

In the centre of the room at various parts, instruments of torture will be seen :-The thumb-screw. The collar of torment, taken from the Spaniards in 1558. The bilboa or yoke. The cravat or scavenger's daughter—an engine for locking together the hands, feet, and neck. Two prodds used for shooting animals. The stirrup bow, with its moutinet for bending it; the latch bow with a beautifully engraved latch.

A very curious battle-axe, combined with three "gonnes," called a "holy water sprinkle." This is said to have been the staff with which Henry VIII. was walking the streets of London at night, when, refusing to give an account of himself to the watchman, he was put into the Poultry Compter, where he remained till the following morning. On the floor are some of the most attractive relics, as the heading-axe, said to have been used in the executions of Anne Boleyn and the Earl of Essex. The block on which the Lords Balmerino, Kilmarnock and Lovat were decapitated on Tower Hill in 1746. Lord Lovat was the last person beheaded in this country. A wooden cannon, used by Henry VIII, at the siege of Boulogne; two pieces of cannon presented to Charles II., when a child, to assist him in his military studies. In different parts of the room are shields of the time of Henry VIII., each of which is furnished with a small matchlock "gonne," and a small grating, through which the soldier

was to take aim. They are constructed of wood, and covered with iron, and have a lining of woollen cloth stuffed. There are also several other interesting implements of warfare in this collection, but a few of the most important only have been selected, as we must pass on to notice the cannon and other trophies without the walls of the White Tower on the south side.

Several of these interesting remains of early gunnery were seriously damaged in the great fire of the 30th of October, 1841, in which the Grand Storehouse, built in the reign of William III., was burnt to the ground, and on the same site afterwards the Wellington Barracks were erected.

The origin of gunnery is lost in the obscurity of the middle ages. Spain, Italy, and the East, all have claims to the invention. Some historians, Rapin amongst them, attribute it to the English, and assert that they gained the victory at Crecy through its instrumentality. Cannon were originally made of iron-bars of iron welded together with iron hoops over them. Stones were shot from these

cannon.

In 1418, Henry V. ordered the clerk of the works of his ordnance, to procure labourers for making 7000 stones for guns in the quarries of Maidstone, Kent. The piece No. 15, is a gun of this description. The earliest brass gun in the Tower collection is No. 10, time of Henry VII-1485-1509. No. 18 is a large brass gun of the reign of Henry VIII. Artillery was first cast in England in this reign. The first foundries were set up in Hounsditch. Here, too, will be found a brass and an iron gun recovered from the wreck of the Royal George; two brass guns taken from the Spaniards at Vigo in 1702; two brass guns, called "Charles" and "Le Téméraire," captured from the French at Cherbourg, in 1758, bearing the arms of France and the motto of Louis XIV., " Ultima ratio regum." An iron gun, which after having lain three hundred years at the bottom of the sea, was recovered from the wreck of Henry VIII's ship the "Mary Rose";-a Chinese gun captured in 1842-a large mortar employed by William III. at the siege of Namur, besides several smaller mortars of more recent construction.

THE JEWEL HOUSE,

in which the Regalia or Crown Jewels are kept, is situated at the north-east angle of the inner ward, and was built in 1841.

The Crown Jewels, according to the ancient records, were first kept in the Tower of London in the reign of Henry III. 1216-54. After the restoration of Charles II. they were removed from a building near the White Tower, to the Martin, thenceforth called the Jewel Tower. The Jewel-house within the Tower was kept by a particular officer, called "The Master of the Jewel-house." He was charged with the custody of all the Regalia, had the appointment in his gift of goldsmith to the King, and "was even esteemed the first Knight Bachelor of England, and took place accordingly." The office was held by Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Essex. The perquisites and profits were formerly very large; but after the Restoration they diminished so much that Sir Gilbert Talbot, the then Master, was tacitly permitted by the King to show the Regalia to strangers.

We find the following record in the Harleian MS. :-"The master of the Jewel-house hath a particular servant in the Tower intrusted with that great Treasure, to whom (because Sir Gilbert Talbot was retrenched in all the perquisites and profitts of his place, and not able to allow him a competent salary) his Majesty doth tacitly allow him that he shall shew the Regalia to strangers; which furnished him with so plentifull a livelyhood that Sir Gilbert Talbot, upon the death of his servant there, had an offer made to him off 500 old broad pieces of gold for the place."

The treasures of the Jewel-house were diminished during the Civil Wars under Charles I. The

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plate amongst the Regalia "which had crucifixes or superstitious pictures" was disposed of for the public service.

The Regalia is arranged in the centre of a well-lighted room, with an ample passage for visitors to walk round. The collection is surmounted by the

NEW STATE CROWN made for the coronation of Queen Victoria. The cap of purple velvet is enclosed in hoops of silver, surmounted by a ball and cross, all of which are resplendent with diamonds; it weighs one pound and three quarters, In the centre of the cross is the "inestimable sapphire;" and in front of the crown, is the heart-shaped ruby, said to have been worn by Edward the Black Prince.

ST. EDWARD'S CROWN was made for the coronation of Charles II, and used in the coronation of all our Sovereigns since his time, to replace the one said to have been worn by Edward the Confessor, which was broken up and sold during the civil wars. This is the crown placed by the Archbishop of Canterbury on the head of the Sovereign at the altar, and the identical crown which Blood stole from the Tower on the 9th of May, 1671. The form is familiar to us as that which is represented in the royal arms and on the coin of the realm. This crown is made of gold, and is embellished with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and sapphires.

THE PRINCE OF WALES'S CROWN is formed of pure gold, unadorned with jewels. It is placed before the seat in the House of Lords which is occupied by the heir apparent.

THE ANCIENT QUEEN'S CROWN is used at coronations for the Queen Consort. It is made of gold, set with diamonds of great value, intermixed with pearls and other costly jewels; the cap is of velvet faced with ermine.

THE QUEEN'S DIADEM or CIRCLET OF GOLD. This was made for the consort of James II., Marie d'Este. It is richly adorned with large diamonds and pearls.

ST. EDWARD'S STAFF is of beaten gold, four feet seven inches in length, surmounted by an orb and cross, and shod with a steel spike. The orb is said to contain a fragment of the true Cross. It is carried before the king or queen at the coronation.

THE ROYAL SCEPTRE, or SCEPTRE WITH THE CROSS, is placed in the right hand of the sovereign at the coronation by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Formed of gold, two feet nine inches in length; the staff is plain, and the pommel is ornamented with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. The fleur-delys with which this sceptre was formerly adorned have been replaced by golden leaves bearing the rose, shamrock, and thistle. The crown is covered with jewels of various kinds, and has in the centre a large table diamond.

THE ROD OF EQUITY, OF SCEPTRE WITH THE DOVE, is placed in the left hand of the sovereign at the coronation. It is of gold, three feet seven inches in length, set with diamonds, &c. At the top is an orb, banded with rose diamonds, and surmounted with a cross, on which is the figure of a dove with expanded wings.

THE QUEEN'S SCEPTRE WITH THE CROSS, is smaller than the former, but of rich workmanship, and adorned with precious stones.

THE IVORY SCEPTRE was made for James II's queen, Marie d'Este. The tradition, that it was the sceptre of Anne Boleyn, is without foundation, It is mounted in gold and terminated by a golden cross, bearing a dove of white onyx.

Another richly wrought golden sceptre, supposed to have been made for Mary, Queen of William III. was found behind the wainscotting of the Jewel Office, in 1814.

In addition to these Crowns and Sceptres we must notice before we quit the Jewel-house