The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum

Last updated

The Royal Lancers & Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum
ThoresbyCourtyard.jpg
Nottinghamshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Nottinghamshire
Established2011
Coordinates 53°14′06″N1°02′42″W / 53.2349°N 1.0451°W / 53.2349; -1.0451
TypeMilitary Museum
CuratorCaptain Mick Holtby
Website www.qrlnymuseum.co.uk

The Royal Lancers & Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum traces the history of three old and famous cavalry regiments, the Royal Lancers, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry and the South Nottinghamshire Hussars. It is located at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire.

Contents

History

The collection has its origins in the Queen's Royal Lancers Regimental Museum which was established at Belvoir Castle in 1964. [1] After the lease at Belvoir Castle expired in October 2007, the trustees of the collection sought funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to finance a move to Thoresby Hall where the Stonebridge Trust, which manages the courtyard there, offered a 25 year lease. [2] Princess Alexandra opened The Queen's Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry museum at Thoresby Hall in July 2011. [3]

In November 2023, thieves stole a haul of "priceless" silver military antiques by cutting through the museum's floor. Among the items stolen from the museum are a distinctive parcel and gilt rosewater dish - said to be the sister piece to the Wimbledon women's singles trophy. [4]

Collection

The collection focusses on the role the local regiments played in warfare over the last 300 years. A highlight of the collection is the bugle which was used at the charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belvoir Castle</span> Historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England

Belvoir Castle is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated 6 mi (10 km) west of the town of Grantham and 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Melton Mowbray. A castle was first built on the site immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and has since been rebuilt at least three times. The final building is a grade I listed mock castle, dating from the early 19th century. It is the seat of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, whose direct male ancestor inherited it in 1508. The traditional burial place of the Manners family was in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford, situated 3 mi (5 km) to the north of the Castle, but since 1825 they have been buried in the ducal mausoleum built next to the Castle in that year, to which their ancient monuments were moved. It remains the private property of the Duke of Rutland but is open to the general public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">17th Lancers</span> British Army cavalry regiment

The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lancers to form the 17th/21st Lancers in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Royal Irish Lancers</span> British Army cavalry regiment

The 5th Royal Irish Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War. It amalgamated with the 16th The Queen's Lancers to become the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Lancers</span> British Army cavalry regiment

The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where Winston Churchill (then an officer of the 4th Hussars), rode with the unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th/12th Royal Lancers</span> British Army cavalry regiment

The 9th/12th Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1960 by the amalgamation of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers. In the later years of its existence, the regiment served as a formation reconnaissance regiment, equipped with the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family of vehicles and was attached to the 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats. The regiment was based in South Wigston, Leicestershire, along with its affiliated Territorial Army unit, B Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry. It was amalgamated with the Queen's Royal Lancers on 2 May 2015 to form the Royal Lancers

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Royal Lancers</span> Military unit

The Queen's Royal Lancers (QRL) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1993 and amalgamated with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers on 2 May 2015 to form the Royal Lancers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a British Yeomanry regiment. In 1967 it was amalgamated with other units to form the Royal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry in 1794, the regiment was used on several occasions in the 19th Century to maintain law and order. During the Second Boer War and both World Wars the regiment earned 44 battle honours. It is now one of the six squadrons of the Royal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. Designated as 'A' Squadron, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry's current role is to support the Light Cavalry Regiments on operations by providing reconnaissance soldiers.

The 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 16th The Queen's Lancers and the 5th Royal Irish Lancers in 1922. The reason for the uniquely atypical regimental title was that the 5th had been re-raised in 1858 almost 60 years after being disbanded, and when re-raised took precedence after the 17th Lancers. After service in the Second World War and the Gulf War, the regiment amalgamated with the 17th/21st Lancers to form the Queen's Royal Lancers in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicestershire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794 and again in 1803, which provided cavalry and mounted infantry in the Second Boer War and the First World War and provided two field artillery regiments of the Royal Artillery in the Second World War, before being amalgamated with the Derbyshire Yeomanry to form the Leicestershire and Derbyshire (Prince Albert's Own) Yeomanry in 1957. The regiment's lineage is currently perpetuated by E (Leicestershire and Derbyshire Yeomanry) Squadron of the Royal Yeomanry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warwickshire Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as cavalry and machine gunners in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalgamated into the Queen's Own Warwickshire and Worcestershire Yeomanry in 1956. The lineage is maintained by B Squadron, part of The Royal Yeomanry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thoresby Hall</span> Grade I listed hotel in Newark and Sherwood, United Kingdom

Thoresby Hall is a grade I listed 19th-century country house in Budby, Nottinghamshire, some 2 miles (4 km) north of Ollerton. It is one of four neighbouring country houses and estates in the Dukeries in north Nottinghamshire all occupied by dukes at one time during their history. The hall is constructed of rock-faced ashlar with ashlar dressings. It is built in four storeys with a square floor plan surrounding a central courtyard, nine bays wide and eight bays deep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">16th The Queen's Lancers</span> British Army cavalry regiment

The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Caton Woodville Jr.</span> English painter

Richard Caton Woodville Jr. was an English artist and illustrator, who is best known for being one of the most prolific and effective painters of battle scenes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Nottinghamshire Hussars</span> Military unit

The South Nottinghamshire Hussars is a unit of the British Army formed as volunteer cavalry in 1794. Converted to artillery in 1922, it presently forms part of 103 Regiment, Royal Artillery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons</span> Yeomanry regiment of the British Army (1794–1956)

The Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1794 to 1956. It was formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Its volunteer companies played an active role with the Imperial Yeomanry in the Second Boer War, but opportunities for mounted action were much more restricted during the First World War and it was temporarily converted into a cycle unit. It remained a cavalry regiment throughout the interwar years, and was the last horsed unit of the British Army to see action, in the Syria–Lebanon Campaign of 1941, finally mechanising the following year. It served as motorised infantry in the North African and Italian campaigns of the Second World War. In 1956, it merged with the Yorkshire Hussars and the East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry to form the Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry. Its lineage is continued today by A Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.

James Prinsep Beadle was an English painter of historical and military scenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Lancers</span> Cavalry regiment of the British Army

The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed by an amalgamation of 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) and the Queen's Royal Lancers on 2 May 2015. It serves in the 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team. The Royal Lancers are part of the 3rd (UK) Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower Street drill hall, York</span> Military building in York, England

The Tower Street drill hall is a military installation in York. It lies on Tower Street, in the city centre.

References

  1. "Welcome". Belvoir Castle. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  2. "Three famous regimental collections to be displayed in new Nottinghamshire museum". Culture 24. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Charge of the Light Brigade bugle stars at new museum". BBC. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  4. "Thieves cut through museum floor to steal 'priceless' silver antiques". 3 November 2023 via www.bbc.com.