Authorised Guide to the Tower of London | Page 5

the
State Apartments of the White Tower, which we reach by a circuitous
route through a passage round the walls, only wide enough for one
person at a time, and a circular, or newel, stair in the north-east turret,
gaining at every turn glimpses of the extensive stores of small arms.
The second floor is divided into two large apartments, not reckoning
the chapel; in the eastern wall of the smaller or Banqueting Chamber, is
a fire-place, the only one till recently discovered in any Norman Keep.
A second and third have of late years been found in the floor below, but
the whole building was designed for security, not for comfort and in
spite of the use of wooden partitions and tapestry must have been
miserable as a place of residence. On leaving St. John's Chapel we
enter
The Armoury.
In connection with the Armouries, it should be noted that the present
collection of arms and armour had its origin in that formed at
Greenwich by King Henry VIII, who received many presents of this
nature from the Emperor Maximilian and others. He also obtained from
the Emperor several skilled armourers, who worked in his pay and
wore his livery. English iron in former days was so inferior, or the art
of working it was so little known, that even as far back as the days of
Richard II German and Italian armourers were the chief workmen in
Europe. It should be remembered that the earlier kind of armour chiefly
consisted of quilted garments, further fortified by small pieces of
leather, horn, or metal. So far from the invention of gunpowder having
driven out armour, if we may credit the story of the earliest
employment of that explosive, it was at a date when plate armour was
hardly in use, certainly not in large pieces. What actually did cause the
disuse of armour was the change in ideas as to the movement of troops
and the large quantity of armour which was made in the sixteenth
century, and consequently the inferior make. In England the disuse of
armour seems to have begun earlier than on the Continent, but at no
time were the ordinary soldiers covered with metal as seen in
Armouries and other places. The weight, and what was more important,

the cost, prevented such a thing. It was only the rich who could afford
to pay for and had horses to carry armour, who wore much of what we
see now. Again, armour for war was much lighter and less complete
than that used for the tilt yard, where protection to the wearer was more
considered than his ability to hurt his opponent. The greater substance
of such armour and its frequent enrichment with engraving and gilding
no doubt led to the preservation of this class of defence. Chain mail
suffered extremely by rust and neglect, and even plate armour was
subject to the same deterioration. It is consequently not to be wondered
at that little or no armour of a date previous to the fifteenth century is to
be seen in this collection. On Henry VIII's death the first inventory of
the Royal collection was made, and this includes the armour and arms
at Greenwich, and arms and artillery at the Tower of London which,
from the time of Henry VIII, was one of the sights for foreigners of
distinction. In the troubles of the Civil War the arms were drawn out,
and there is no doubt much, both of arms and armour, was used and lost.
The Protector took one suit, and it was not till 1660 that the armour,
which had meanwhile been brought to London, was collected, and,
with the weapons still in the store, were formed into a kind of museum.
It is to that period that may be traced most of the grotesque stories
associated with the collection. At various subsequent periods additions
were made to the collection, and it was arranged in such manner as
suited the knowledge of the day. Series of figures of kings of England
and famous persons were made and added to or changed on the death of
the sovereign. In later times the whole has been arranged by Sir Samuel
Meyrick. Mr. Hewitt, and Mr. Planché, and in 1859 Mr. Hewitt drew
up the first catalogue of the contents.
The mounted figures from 1826 till 1883 stood in a long gallery
adjoining the south side of the Tower, but at the latter date this was
pulled down, and the figures removed to the top floor. Within the last
few years the floor below has been used for the later arms, but the
lighting of the rooms and their shape, with various other causes,
prevent any strictly chronological arrangements of the collection, many
objects of which also