| Stratford Armouries | |
|---|---|
| Established | 2007 |
| Location | Gospel Oak Lane, Pathlow, Stratford on Avon |
| Website | Stratford Armouries |
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.
History[]
The Wigington family arrived in Warwickshire 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-acre (350,000 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.
Exhibits[]
The museum features a wide range of exhibits - the most noteworth include a life-sized armoured Indian elephant, a cannon 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.[1] 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 m) wide and 50 feet (15 m) long,[2] and was constructed by several experts attempting to see whether his design was a fantasy or development hundreds of years before his time.[3]
Events[]
In 2009 the museum site was used for a steam rally organised by Shakespear Promotions but the event suffered from bad weather (as did other events that year) and the site was waterlogged which lead to the early closure of the show.
Notes[]
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Coordinates: 52°13′34″N 1°43′55″W / 52.2262°N 1.7320°W
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