The Royal Armouries is Britain’s national museum of arms and armour, and one of the most important museums of its type in the world. Its origins lie in the Middle Ages, and at its core is the celebrated collection originating in the nation’s working arsenal, assembled over many centuries at the Tower of London. With its administration as a discrete body dating to 1323, the Royal Armouries can claim to be one of (if not the) world’s oldest museums.
The collection of nearly 70,000 objects – apart from the c. 2,100 loans to other bodies – is now displayed and housed at the Tower of London, at our purpose-built museum in Leeds and at Fort Nelson, near Portsmouth. Since 2005 the museum has also managed the collection of small arms assembled since the early 19th century by the British Army (the former Pattern Room), now also in Leeds and known as the National Firearms Centre (NFC).
The charitable objectives of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Armouries are set out under the provisions of the National Heritage Act 1983 and are as follows:
• To care for, preserve and add to the objects in the collection of arms, armour and associated objects;
• To secure that the objects are exhibited to the public;
• To secure that the objects are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research;
• To maintain a record relating to their collection, to arms and armour generally and to the Tower;
• To promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of arms and armour, both by means of the Board’s collection and by such other means as they consider appropriate.
The primary activity undertaken in relation to these objectives is the operation of the Royal Armouries Museum across its sites in Leeds, Portsmouth and the Tower of London.
Why The Royal Armouries is supporting Boardroom Apprentice
Under the terms of the 1983 National Heritage Act our Chairman and Board are directly appointed by the Secretary of State, with the exception of one directly appointed by the Sovereign and the Constable of the Tower of London, who serves as a Trustee as a function of his office. This arrangement has traditionally provided us with an eminent and capable Board, drawn from across the UK. However, it has not allowed us to proactively target the recruitment of Trustees who reflect the diversity of interests and backgrounds of our audience, especially in the regions from where a large part of our visitors originate. Historically, our visitors have tended to be younger, more culturally diverse and more likely to be from under-served socio-economic neighbourhoods than many other sponsored national museums. It is also the case that, due to our collections, much of our work deals more directly with issues such as community safety, violence reduction and global conflict, which have specific relevance to our audiences, beyond more general cultural and heritage interests. This means we would like to enhance our Board with younger, more diverse voices, who have insight into some of those areas of interest that have relevance for our audiences. By doing so, we would hope not only to add value to the work of the current Board but also to help prepare potential candidates for future appointments.
Location of Board and Committee Meetings
Board meetings are held in Leeds (2 per year), London (1 per year) and Portsmouth (1 per year). Committee meetings are all held in Leeds. Meetings are in person but hybrid provision is available
Frequency and timing of board/committee meetings
Board and Committee meetings are held quarterly. All meetings take place during the day. Board meetings run 11.00 – 15.00. Committee meetings are usually 2 hours
Date of Board Meetings (January – December 2025)
27 March 2025, 26 June 2025, 25 September 2025, 11 December 2025
Committee of the Boards and meeting dates (January - December 2025)
Audit Committee 13 March, 12 June, 11 September, 27 November
Finance Committee 13 March, 12 June, 11 September, 27 November
Collections Research and Learning Committee 19 March, 25 June, 17 September, 10 December
Masterplan Committee 13 March, 12 June, 11 September, 27 November
Security checks
Security checks on Board members are carried out by DCMS. Where managed directly by Royal Armouries, as your role as a Trustee may require access to secure stores and firearms areas, we would require identity check, reference check and a criminal record check to meet the terms of our security policy and firearms license.
Payment of travel expenses
Yes