Household Cavalry Museum

Keilyn ready for sentry duty.

Saturday October 7, 2023.

Once again Keilyn wanted to go for another walk, back in London. 

Knowing of her love for all things military, (she wants to join the Army Cadets when she is 12), I booked us some tickets for the Household Cavalry Museum, which is a place that neither of us had visited.

A few issues with planned closures, on our normal train route, saw us take the London Overground to South Hampstead from where we walked to Swiss Cottage and continued, via the Jubilee line, to Green Park. From there we took a leisurely stroll along The Mall to Horse Guards Parade. 

I could see on her face that she wasn't impressed, as this was a place that we had visited many times. When I told her where we going her face lit up.

The entrance to the Household Cavalry Museum.

After showing our tickets we began our exploratory of the museum, which we found we had pretty much to ourselves.

The uniform of The Blues and Royals.

With its glass cases housing uniforms, weaponry, medals, historical artefacts, maps and much more, we were both fascinated. 

The uniform of a Life Guard.

After seeing the first few display cases, which were predominantly filled with uniforms, we made our way through to the stables. The wall to our right was tinted glass, as beyond were the stables where horses and guards where busy going about their preparations. To our left were stalls with various interactive screens, colouring and information sheets. There were also uniforms from various regiments, along with gloves, helmets, cuirass and more. Keilyn and I couldn't wait to try some on.

Keilyn in camouflage fatigues.

Sergeant Morrissey ready for duty.

From here we made our way though to the next part of the museum, which ran through the more than 350 year history of the Household Cavalry. From its humble beginnings to its current place in the British Army. Many of their exploits, achievements and characters adorned the walls, cabinets and interactive displays.

A Napoleonic soldier.

Household Cavalry Regiment in their combat fatigues.

Although the museum is relatively small it is packed with history.

There was so much that I discovered, as I only had partial knowledge of the regiment, like, for instance, the role they played in upholding the rule of law and maintaining public order, during the 1660s through to the 1780s.

Keeping the Rule of Law sometimes involved hunting down Highwaymen.

Tools of the Trade.

Once we had seen all we could see, we made our way back through the museum to the gift shop. Again, although small, it had everything from your souvenir mug, notebooks, pencils, clothing, trinkets, replica coins and medals, books and more. Keilyn, who I was sure was going to pick up a notebook and pencil, or possibly a t-shirt, opted for book covering the 350 year history of the Household Cavalry.

During the time of King Henry VIII this was the site of the Palace of Whitehall's tiltyard, where tournaments, that included jousting, were held.

We then headed out onto Horse Guards Parade, before making our way through to Horse Guards to see the sentries. 

A Life Guard on sentry duty.

Suitably full of history and excitement Keilyn and I headed off in search of more history, oh, and a hot drink.

Gallery

If you or your young ones enjoy military history then this is a great museum to visit. Click the link below to be taken to the website for the Household Cavalry Museum.

Household Cavalry Museum