On the left hand are cases of European firearms of the first half of
the present century, and two cannon made for the Duke of Gloucester,
the son of Queen Anne. In the S.E. corner, on a platform, are several
early cannon, including one, and part of another, from the wreck of
the _Mary Rose_, sunk in action with the French off Spithead in 1545.
These display the early mode of construction of such weapons, namely;
bars of iron longitudinally welded together and encircled by hoops of
the same metal. On the window side in the recesses are wall pieces,
which belonged to the Honourable East India Company. The figure of Queen
Elizabeth is supposed to represent her as on her way to St. Paul's
Cathedral after the destruction of the Spanish Armada. Near the lift are
partizans carried by the Yeomen of the Guard, and round the pillars are
the sergeants' halberds used in the Army till about 1830. Observe the
kettledrums captured at the battle of Blenheim, 1704.
On the left hand observe the beheading axe, which has been here since
1687, also the block on which Lord Lovat, in 1747, lost his head at one
stroke for the share he took in the attempt of the Pretender in 1745.
Beyond this, against the wall, is a model by John Bell of a monument for
the Great Duke of Wellington. It was presented by the late Sir Daniel
Lysons, Constable of the Tower, 1890-1898. Still on the left hand, in a
glass case, is the soldier's cloak on which General Wolfe expired in the
moment of victory, at Quebec, 1759.
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