Antique Arms & Militaria

A Superb Victorian Hampshire Regt. Officers Full Dress Belt and Belt Plate One of the Best Examples We Have Ever Seen

A most scarce pattern of Victorian Hampshire regimental waist belt In 24 carat gilt and gold bullion, over red Morocco leather. Very few of these beautiful quality belts survive complete, and this is a truly exceptional one. Manufactured by Potter of London. Known as the Hampshire Tigers, the buckle bears the symbols of the Indian Tiger, and the Rose plucked from the Battle of Minden. The Hampshire Regiment was formed on 1st July 1881 when The 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and The 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot were merged as part of the Childers reforms. Portrait miniature of an officer of the 37th or North Hampshire Regiment of Foot in the gallery for reference not included

The 37th Regiment of Foot was first formed in 1702 and as was the tradition at the time named ?Meredith?s Regiment? after Thomas Meredith, the Colonel of the Regiment who raised it in Dublin. The Regiment then served in various campaigns including The War of Spanish Succession (1704-1710) and The War of the Austrian Succession (1740?1748). In 1745 The Regiment returned to England when Bonnie Prince Charlie (the grandson of the deposed James II) landed in Scotland, attempting to regain the crown lost to the Stuart family in 1688 and incited the Jacobite Rising. The Regiment fought for the Hanoverian King George II at the Battles of Falkirk and Culloden. In 1751 the Regiment became The 37th Regiment of Foot as part of a scheme to simplify the naming system of British Army Regiments. The Regiment was once again involved in foreign campaigns including, The Seven Years War (1756?1763) and The American War of Independence (1775-1783). In 1783 The 37th became The 37th North Hampshire Regiment in order to aid recruitment. The Regiment was involved in various campaigns including The Peninsular War and The First War of Indian Independence.
The 67th Regiment of Foot was initially the 2nd Battalion of the 20th Foot but detached in 1758 and became the 67th of Foot. The Regiment saw its first action on the aborted expedition to capture St. Malo in 1758. It was part of the force sent to capture Belle Isle during the Seven Years War, also served in The Spanish invasion of Portugal 1762 and was stationed in India from 1805 after the Second Anglo-Maratha War and participated in The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817?1818), remaining in India for 21 years. In 1783 The 67th became The 67th South Hampshire Regiment in order to aid recruitment. The Regiment was further involved in foreign campaigns including The Second and Third China Wars (1857-1865) and The Japan Expedition (1862?1864).The 67th return to England after 21 years and authorisation to carry the Royal Bengal Tiger on the Regimental Colours
In February 1826, after spells in Sholapore and Poona, the regiment was sent to Rangoon to reinforce British troops engaged in the Burmese war.
Both Regiments were amalgamated in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms and became the Hampshire Regiment. The Childers Reforms restructured the British army infantry Regiments. The newly formed Regiment engaged in various foreign campaigns including; Secunderabad (1886-1888), Burma (1888?1891), South African War (1899?1902), and two World Wars.  read more

Code: 21180

Welcome to The Lanes Armoury, The Magical Place Where Wonders Are For Sale

Our beautiful pieces from history are not always just for looking at, some can still be enjoyed and worn for every one to see.

We Are Not Just A Webstore, We Are Always Welcoming Personal Visitors To Our Gallery In Brighton Every Day*

Thousands of original pieces of history, for example, from Ancient Rome and Greece to Medieval Japan, and Viking Europe. Covering British, European, and in fact, all worldwide eras of historical events from the past 4000 years, with antiquities, weaponry, armour, object d’art, militaria and books from the bronze age to WW2.

Personalised Certificates of Authenticity supplied with every purchase.

Our family have been personally serving the public in Brighton for generations, in fact, for over 100 years.

* Opening hours Monday to Saturday 11.00am till 4.00pm  read more

Code: 24055

A Napoleonic Wars Exploded Solid Shot 12 Pounder Cannon Ball

Battle field recovery. With less than 50% remaining, the ball has hit its target, and split asunder. Within the ball is an air pocket which may explain its split in two on impact. Thomas Blomefield, as Inspector-General of Artillery, introduced a new system of Ordnance from 1784 onwards. His system of gun tubes was based around two standard lengths: that of 17 calibres and that of 13. Seventeen calibre tubes were used for the 'heavy' or 'long' pieces with the 'light' and siege/garrison guns having tubes of 13 calibres. The calibre of all 12-pounders was 4.623 inches.

Blomefield designed three types of 12-pounder, each being specialised towards a particular function. The heavy 12-pounder was used in garrison and siege work; the medium was used in the field and the light for the horse artillery. As the Napoleonic wars progressed, however, the medium 12-pounder became the sole weapon of its class.

The medium 12-pounder had a gun-tube that was 6 feet 6.66 inches in length and it weighed 18.0 cwt; an example cast by John and Henry King in 1795 at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, has a length of 6 feet 3 inches and a weight of 18 cwt 9lb. A medium 12-pounder also survives with its original block-trail carriage in Montreal. The Royal Artillery used 12-pounder field guns in almost all of their major operations and furthermore it was used by the Royal Horse Artillery. See; Wellington's Big Bang: the British 12-pounders By Anthony Leslie Dawson  read more

Code: 21295

A Very Good French 19th Century Crimean War and Franco Prussian War Pouch

Artillery officers pounch with a leather ground and gilt bronze borders and large gilt bronze mountings with wide cross belt hangers. Red morocco leather The cross belt was predominantly used from the 1700s (American Revolutionary War) to the 1840s they were not part of a soldier's equipment in the American Civil War and Anglo-Zulu War/First Boer War.

For most line infantry, skirmishers, light infantry, grenadiers and guard regiments during much of Europe's Age of Gunpowder, either a cross belt or two shoulder belts were worn.[citation needed] One configuration for the belts would be the cartridge box on the right hip and sword scabbard on the left. Such equipment would be attached to the belt at its lowest point, where it rests on the hip. Officers almost never carried muskets or rifles, so they typically wore only one shoulder belt, such as for the pistol cartridge box or for a sabre scabbard. As officers were often aristocratic and used many independent symbols for their family, rank, and command, their uniforms and gear organisation could be highly variable.

For British infantry, the cross belt had a metal belt plate with the regiment of the soldier inscribed on it. We show in the gallery an old print of officers of another regiment but it shows how this pouch was worn  read more

Code: 18644

Victorian First Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers Helmet Plate

Victorian other ranks helmet plate of the 1st Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers.
A fine scarce white metal example of a home service helmet plate, being of a Victoria crowned royal arms with a scroll below inscribed First over a gun which is resting resting over another scroll inscribed Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers
There are three fixing loops to the reverse. The 1st Lanarkshire Artillery Volunteers were formed in 1859 as a response to a French invasion threat. Its units fought at Gallipoli and in Palestine during World War I, and in Normandy and North West Europe during World War II.
C1878-1900 Excellent Condition.  read more

Code: 18563

A Very Good Decorated Spanish Antique Albacete Fighting Knife

A 19th Century Spanish Fighting knife of Albacete, Spain; The knife measures 28cm in length with an elaborate ornately pierced blade. The blade has two holes and an open panel incised for decoration, with added pin point engraved decoration. The hilt is brass, inlaid with carved bone. The bone has been fluted length ways and further inlaid with decorative brass panels. A Handbook for Travellers in Spain (printed in 1855), by Richard Ford, has a commentary on the knife culture that prevailed in Spain at the time. When we read an account of an exotic land written by an English traveler in 19th century Albacete, Abula, he describes that as owing to its central position, from whence roads and rails branch to Aragon, Murcia, Valencia, and Madrid, it is a place of great traffic, and is a town of locomotives, from the English rail, the French dilly, to the Spanish donkey. . . . "Albacete is called the Sheffield of Spain, as Chatelherault is the knife making centre of France; but everything is by comparison, and the coarse cutlery turned out in each, at whose make and material an English artisan smiles, perfectly answers native ideas and wants. The object of a Spanish knife is to "chip bread and kill a man," "  read more

Code: 20810

SAVE £650 A Rare Pair of Antique Ottoman Empire Iron Stirrups

A pair of antique 17th to 18th century Turkish Ottoman Empire russet iron stirrups of characteristic form, with broad arch treads. All steel construction in the early style that goes back to the medieval period. One picture in the gallery shows Fatih Sultan Mehmet II [using his identical stirrups] entering Constantinople, after his conquest, in 1453. The stirrup took time to appear on the scene. The saddle itself was a relative latecomer in the history of riding ? Alexander the Great, for example, conquered his empire astride some simple pieces of cloth. Saddles with saddle trees, which made stirrups possible, are said to have first appeared in Central Asia around the time of Jesus birth. And after having initially taken the form of a buckle, notably in India,?the first stirrups for both feet reinforcing the rider's balance seem to have arisen around the year 100 in the Kushan Empire (encompassing parts of Afghanistan, modern-day Pakistan and northern India) before spreading to northern China in the 3rd century and the western steppes of Iran in the 6th century. Hundreds of years later around 700 years after Jesus Christ stirrups reached Western Europe, spreading throughout the society around the 9th century. Several routes are possible when explaining their arrival in the region, and expert opinion is divided on the subject. Some say they were brought by the Huns; others affirm that they were introduced by Persians to Arabs, then Arabs to Byzantines; still others believe that Arabs imported them into Europe via southern Spain and the south of France. Whatever the case, the earliest representations of stirrups appear on a chess set piece offered to Charlemagne by the caliph Haroun al-Rachid (who died in 809), then in Spanish documents in the first part of the 9th century.  read more

Code: 22614

A Battle Worn Original Early 17th Century Italian Partizan Polearm Head

Steel three prong partizan decorated with birds on a floral background from the 1620's. Battle damaged and a fabulous artifact of 17th century warfare. With later haft [not shown] A partizan (also partisan) is a type of polearm that was used in Europe in the Middle Ages. It consisted of a spearhead mounted on a long shaft, usually wooden, with protrusions on the sides which aided in parrying sword thrusts. From the era of the Italian Wars of Castro. They were a series of conflicts during the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro (located in present-day Lazio, Italy), which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict was a result of a power struggle between the papacy ? represented by members of two deeply entrenched Roman families and their popes, the Barberini and Pope Urban VIII and the Pamphili and Pope Innocent X ? and the Farnese dukes of Parma, who controlled Castro and its surrounding territories as the Duchy of Castro. We do have its polearm 70 inches long overall, 12.5 head incl. side straps  read more

Code: 20976

A Most Rare Victorian, Anglo Indian, British Raj, Silver 105th (Madras Light Infantry) Officer Glengarry Badge

From the British Raj, one of the most desirable eras of collectable militaria of Anglo Indian history. Pre 1881 Silver coiled bugle horn couched within crowned sprays of laurel and palm, the horn with central floreate numerals 105, on the curl of the horn Madras Light Infty.. A scroll on the junction of the leaf sprays Cede Nullis. Sealed in 1876. Became the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in 1881 The 105th Regiment of Foot (Madras Light Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1862 to 1881, when it was amalgamated into The King's Own Light Infantry (South Yorkshire Regiment).

The regiment was originally raised by the Honourable East India Company in 1839 as the 2nd Madras (European) Regiment, redesignated the 2nd Madras (European) Light Infantry in 1842, and served in the Indian Mutiny of 1857. As with all other "European" units of the Company, they were placed under the command of the Crown in 1858, and formally moved into the British Army in 1862, ranked as the 105th Foot.

As part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, the regiment was amalgamated with the 51st (the 2nd Yorkshire West Riding) or King's Own Light Infantry Regiment to form The King's Own Light Infantry (South Yorkshire Regiment).  read more

Code: 19050

A Very Rare Long Distance Flight Medal, Major von Parseval 1909

Designed by world renown medalist Karl Goetz [1875 - 1950]
Very Rare silver medal, for the flight of 12th to 19th October, 1909. Long-distance voyages of the Parseval airships. Half-length portrait of the airship designer A. Parseval to the left / eagle stands with outstretched wings on the bow of the airship, below water surface, above right inscription. Hallmark: feinsilber BAYER. MAIN MINT OFFICE. it was awarded in two grades silver and bronze, this, the silver is an incredibly rare antique aviation medal from the earliest days of airships. August von Parseval (5 February 1861, in Frankenthal (Pfalz) – 22 February 1942, in Berlin) was a German airship designer.

As a boy, Von Parseval attended the Royal Bavarian Pagenkorps in Munich from 1873 to 1878, where he took the Fähnrichexamen (cadet exams). He then joined the Royal Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment Prinz Carl von Bayern. An autodidact, he busied himself with the problems of aeronautics. In the garrison town of Augsburg he came into contact with August Riedinger and also came to know his later partner Rudolf Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld, with whom he developed Drachenballons: balloons used by the military for observation.

In 1901 Parseval and Sigsfeld began building a dirigible airship. After Sigsfeld's death during a free balloon landing in 1902, the work was interrupted until 1905.

By 1905, thanks to improvements in motor design, an appropriate engine was now available. His designs were licensed to the British Vickers company. Up to the end of the First World War, 22 Parseval airships (both non-rigid (blimps) and semi-rigid (with keels)) were built. In the late twenties and early thirties, four more semi-rigid airships were built in accordance with the "Parseval-Naatz principle".  read more

Code: 23836