Stratford Armouries
Encyclopedia
Stratford Armouries is an Arms and Armour museum on the outskirts of the historic town of Stratford-upon-Avon
, most famous for being the birthplace of the playwright William Shakespeare
. The museum is the newest tourist attraction in Stratford-upon-Avon and contains the personal arms and armour collection of James Wigington and is considered to be one of the largest private collections open to the public.
around 1750. In the nineteenth century James's Great Grandfather Thomas Mabbutt was the managing director of the Abingdon
Gunworks Company in Birmingham
manufacturing Snider, Chassepot and Martini guns. Stratford Armouries was built in 2007 on an 86 acres (348,030 m²) site - the former RAF Snitterfield
. The museum houses the family's private collection of arms and armour gathered over 250 years in the trade and is visited by tourists to Stratford and local people.
dating from 1450, and a giant crossbow
modelled on Leonardo Da Vinci's original design. The elephant armour was designed and constructed by Terry English a famous armourer who has worked on several famous films including the Harry Potter
series. The cannon named the Lantaka cannon is considered to be one of the oldest examples of a cannon on display dating from 1450 salvaged from an early modern Dutch Naval vessel. The giant crossbow's arms alone measure 80 feet (24.4 m) wide and 50 feet (15.2 m) long, and was constructed by several experts attempting to see whether his design was a fantasy or development hundreds of years before his time.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, most famous for being the birthplace of the playwright William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. The museum is the newest tourist attraction in Stratford-upon-Avon and contains the personal arms and armour collection of James Wigington and is considered to be one of the largest private collections open to the public.
History
The Wigington family arrived in WarwickshireWarwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
around 1750. In the nineteenth century James's Great Grandfather Thomas Mabbutt was the managing director of the Abingdon
Abingdon
Abingdon may refer to the following places:In Australia :* Abingdon, Queensland, a place in Northern QueenslandIn Britain:*Abingdon, Oxfordshire**Abingdon School**Abingdon Abbey**Abingdon Lock**Abingdon Bridge**Abingdon Air & Country Show...
Gunworks Company in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
manufacturing Snider, Chassepot and Martini guns. Stratford Armouries was built in 2007 on an 86 acres (348,030 m²) site - the former RAF Snitterfield
RAF Snitterfield
RAF Snitterfield is a former Royal Air Force station located west of Snitterfield, Warwickshire, England, north of Stratford-upon-Avon.RAF Snitterfield was operational during the Second World War, the airfield had around 30 aircraft stands and currently the location of the bomb store is unknown...
. The museum houses the family's private collection of arms and armour gathered over 250 years in the trade and is visited by tourists to Stratford and local people.
Exhibits
The museum features a wide range of exhibits - the most noteworth include a life-sized armoured Indian elephant, a cannonCannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
dating from 1450, and a giant crossbow
Crossbow
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...
modelled on Leonardo Da Vinci's original design. The elephant armour was designed and constructed by Terry English a famous armourer who has worked on several famous films including the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series. The cannon named the Lantaka cannon is considered to be one of the oldest examples of a cannon on display dating from 1450 salvaged from an early modern Dutch Naval vessel. The giant crossbow's arms alone measure 80 feet (24.4 m) wide and 50 feet (15.2 m) long, and was constructed by several experts attempting to see whether his design was a fantasy or development hundreds of years before his time.