Composite cap-a-pie field armour of the Marquess of Waterford

Medieval notions of chivalry were the object of intense interest by British aristocrats in the first part of the nineteenth century. A high point of this 'Gothic Revival' was the Eglinton Tournament of 1839, hosted by the Earl of Eglinton in Ayrshire, Scotland. Dozens of peers, baronets, knights and gentlemen gathered there for medieval jousting and pageantry. Much of the armour for the occasion was supplied by the Bond Street dealer Samuel Pratt, who sought out armours, old and new, to satisfy his customers. This composite armour was worn at the event by the Marquess of Waterford. Most parts were made in the early nineteenth century but mimicked the late fifteenth-century style, incorporating extensive fluting in the 'Gothic' fashion. After the tournament, the armour was sold by Pratt to the Tower of London Armouries.