The Line of Kings - Part 3

The figure of George II had become the seventeenth and last equestrian figure in the Line of Kings in 1768. This might have been because the need for an exhibition popularising warlike kings was no longer felt to be necessary. However, the Horse Armoury remained a popular attraction for visitors to London. In 1786, Sophie von La Roche More information recorded in her diary seeing the royal figures on horseback: ‘It is a fine sight, and looks very much more warlike than the modern uniform’.

By this time, the study of the history of arms and armour had developed a better understanding of new techniques and styles over time. Francis Grose More information published a new study which illustrated many objects from the Tower Armouries. He wrote that ‘many of the figures of our kings…are the work of some of the best sculptors of the time in which they were set up.’ However, historical research highlighted that the ‘Line’ was more fantasy and propaganda than fact.

By the 1820s opinions about the display were divided. John Whitcomb Bayley wrote that the royal figures ‘are in fine armour, on horseback and have altogether a grand and most imposing effect.’ Yet Polish visitor Krystyn Lach-Szyrma More information was unimpressed. He said, ‘there is little art in them and they look like horrible monsters, blank and in poor taste, not worth looking at unless by children or the rabble.’

The harshest critic, though, was Britain’s leading authority on the history of armour, Dr Samuel Rush Meyrick, who complained about the displays at the Tower:

‘Notwithstanding the sneers of interested individuals, the Tower contains some very fine and unique specimens…I cannot help lamenting that, in this enlightened age, persons visiting curiosities intrinsically valuable, as these certainly are, should continue to be deceived by such false representations.’

Meyrick criticised the state of the displays at the Tower in his publications and offered to rearrange them. This was approved by the Board of Ordnance More information and the new Constable of the Tower, the Duke of Wellington. In 1826, Meyrick began his work which involved moving the displays to a purpose-built New Horse Armoury which had been constructed alongside the south wall of the White Tower More information .

Meyrick disliked this building despite it being one of Britain’s earliest purpose-built museum buildings. It had a line of pointed arches running down its centre, in front of which stood the ‘kings’ on their horses. Visitors were led in front and behind to view various standing figures in armour and other objects on the walls and ceiling.

Meyrick’s aim was ‘to make this collection historically useful’ and he chose to arrange the figures and objects chronologically for the first time and ‘founded on the basis of truth.’

In addition to making the display more educational, Meyrick also improved the appearance of the ‘Line’ so that ‘Instead of one position as heretofore for the whole, though there are two and twenty figures on horseback and ten on foot, there are no two attitudes alike, no very easy matter to effect’.

To achieve greater accuracy Meyrick changed the display from just monarchs to a line in which kings were once again placed alongside princes and noblemen. He also added a figure of James II for the very first time.

The first official guidebook to the Tower and Armouries was written by John Hewitt in 1841, followed by his Official Catalogue of the Arms and Armour in 1859. New additions were made to improve the collection. Keeping the display not only looking up to date and based on current scholarship proved to be difficult. By 1866 Baron de Ros More information wrote ‘it is beginning to require a fresh inspection and arrangement, similar to that made by the late Dr Meyrick’.

In 1869 James Robinson Planché was invited by the War Office to re-arrange the New Horse Armoury. Planché was a playwright, historian, and Herald at the College of Arms, He was also an expert on arms and armour and had recently organised an armour exhibition at the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). He accepted, hoping to allow ‘the general visitor to form, even at a rapid and passing glance, some idea of the progress of art and gradual change of fashion, from the 12th to the 18th century’. Planché improved the presentation of the line of figures and grouped the arms and armour by date. He also removed the large banners above the riders created by Dr Meyrick in 1826–7. Instead, he added informative labels so visitors would not have to rely on descriptions given by the guides.

Engravings in books and magazines remained important for illustrating the displays. From the late 1860s, however, photographers were successfully taking pictures inside the New Horse Armoury. These provided a more accurate picture than many of the engravings and comparing photographs at different dates shows that further slight changes continued regularly.

Some photographs were sold for viewing through 3-D devices, as souvenirs to be kept in albums, and as glass slides for projecting onto a screen. After a lot of debate, the entry charge was removed in 1875 on certain ‘free days’. This allowed entry to the Horse Armoury for those on low incomes who were willing to queue on a Monday or Saturday. It became extremely popular and greatly increased the number of visitors who saw the displays.