Leeds Attractions

The Royal Armouries Leeds is the UK's national collection of arms and armour. Formerly the oldest museum collection in the world, it was moved from its former home in the Tower of London to a specially-created museum in Leeds in 1996. Visitors can enter through 5 galleries, each with its own armoury theme covering self-defence, war, armour of the Orient, hunting and tournament armour. There are also a variety of different objects and weapons on display, including over 7500 swords, King Henry VIII’s equestrian equipment, several longbows excavated from the sunken British battleship the Mary Rose, around 50 instruments of torture, and arms and armour from as far afield as central Asia, India, Africa and Japan. The Armouries also hold a variety of events and exhibitions, many of them children oriented.