AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-L Archives

From: Dr M M Gilchrist <> (by way of John Robertson <>
Subject: [AM-REV] Back from the Royal Armouries and sunny Yorkshire!
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 06:38:18 -0400

Dear all,
Well, I'm just back from Hull!
On Thursday, Dad and I made it to the Royal Armouries at Leeds. I can
recommend this to anyone interested in armour, swords, firearms, militaria
and sporting weaponry. We didn't go around the exhibitions this time (did
that in Jan'y: they have a sporting Ferguson rifle and a pair of Fergie
pistols on show!), but had a look in the craft court: armourers,
leatherworkers and gunmakers at work in workshops. It's fascinating to
watch, and they're happy to talk to you about it. They even sell produce:
the shoemakers' do all kinds of historic footwear, from poulaines (the
silly long pointy 15C shoes as worn by Black Adder I) to 17C long boots and
Napoleonic hussar boots with silver tassels (about $350/£200!). I like the
square-toed 17-18C men's shoes (the women's ones look too uncomfortable!),
but then I have some similar modern shoes anyway, with ribbon ties! At the
gunmakers', I got a silver pendant based on a 17C escutcheon plate from a
French pistol - it has a tiny mermaid engraved on it! We also had a lengthy
chat with the gunsmiths about Pattie Ferguson, Ferguson rifles, & c & c...
They are going to put a word in re: possibility of my giving a talk at the
Armouries. Obviously they knew about the Fergie rifle, but nothing really
about Pattie himself, and were intrigued by what I was able to tell them.
Cheers,
Doc M

Dr. M. M. Gilchrist

The Silver Whistle: http://www.silverwhistle.free-online.co.uk/
The Website of the Century: the 18th Century...

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• [AM-REV] Back from the Royal Armouries and sunny Yorkshire! by Dr M M Gilchrist <> (by way of John Robertson <>