The King’s Armourer Clothed as an Honorary Liveryman & Our 388th Birthday Celebrations

The Gunmakers make history again – two triumphs in one day!

Simon Metcalf is a really nice chap.  Humble, graceful and considerate in his interactions with anyone he meets.  He is also, and is reluctant to tell you, an internationally renowned expert on Arms & Armour conservation, hence he is the King’s Armourer and is a Member of the Royal Victorian Order.  You can understand that for all these reasons, we were extremely pleased and proud to Clothe Simon as an Honorary Liveryman of the Gunmakers’ Company last Thursday 13 March here at The Proof House.

Simon emailed…

‘Dear Master, Past Masters and Members of the Court,

Thank you very much for inviting me to celebrate with you the 388 years of the London Gunmakers Company. The lunch, talks and visit to the proof house were very special, especially because of the warm and friendly welcome and many interesting conversations. Thank you all very much and also to those who made the day go so well.

I am very honoured to have been made a liveryman of the Company on this auspicious occasion. The recognition by the Gunmakers of the role of conservation in preserving the past works of London Gunmakers and keeping the history of the craft alive and means a great deal to me and my colleagues in Arms & Armour conservation.’

The menu card for the day.

Yes, he stayed as one of our guests for our first Birthday Lunch.  An equally important, momentous and trend-setting event.  25 squeezed into the Court Room and the festivities followed the format of a Livery Lunch with the tour replaced with a resume by Liverymen Professor David Williams OBE and Dr Nick Harlow of the valuable work carried out by the Heritage & Collections Committee.  The Master spoke to say how weird it was to be 388!

He went on to thank Liveryman Derek Stimpson for his service over nearly 20 years as Hon Archivist and everyone for all their support. That this was a true Carolean Company in that King Charles I had granted our first charter, King Charles II had made us a Livery and King Charles III could still be monarch when our Gunmakers’ 400 is celebrated.  He closed by proposing the only possible toast that to our first Master, Henry Rowland.  The Clerk briefly responded and proposed the toast to the Company and the roared response of ‘Forever!’ was nearly as loud as the cannon!

Henry Rowland’s shield.

One Liveryman asked, ‘What a great event. Why haven’t we done this before? Why hasn’t my other Company or other Companies celebrated  their Birthday?’  This event sold out in just 2 hours, so we are already planning to hold next year’s lunch at Watermen’s Hall, somewhere the Gunmakers have never visited.

The London Proof House looking ready for the Christmas celebration.

Christmas Greetings 2025

December 21, 2025
A brief message from the Master of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers to all Liverymen at Christmas.
Coat of arms with weapons, flags, and Latin inscription:

The Achievement of Arms

October 5, 2025
Our identity as the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers certainly transcends the words themselves. In fact, our particular style of Livery is a unique combination of our heritage, the work of the Proof House and the Clerk’s office, and the day-to-day contributions […] The post The Achievement of Arms appeared first on Worshipful Company of Gunmakers.

Gunmakers Master Made Fellow

October 2, 2025
Richard Hefford-Hobbs Awarded Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering  Richard Hefford-Hobbs FREng has been awarded the esteemed Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a prestigious honour recognising his exceptional contributions to the field of engineering.   The announcement was made on the 24th of September 2025, highlighting Richard as one of a select few […] The post Gunmakers Master Made Fellow appeared first on Worshipful Company of Gunmakers.
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