Meadieval Armor and weapons

The museum at the Tower of London is one idea. But you can only look at the swords from behind glass, not handle them.

The Tower of London is a good place to start. Windsor Castle also has a nice weapons and armor display.

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/

Sorry hot post before I added this link:
http://www.thearma.org/spotlight/UKtripreport.htm

bonnie,

I agree with the others in that the Tower of London would be the best place to start. There's a large Museum directly across the courtyard from the entrance to the Crown Jewels (can't recall, but possibly the White Tower?). There are lots of displays of medieval armour, weapons and other artifacts!

If you're planning a day trip to Paris, there's also a huge collection at one of the Museums (Invalides as I recall).

Happy travels!

Ken - Yes, at Invalides in Paris. Not well known, but fascinating and included in the Paris Museum card.

The Tower of London is the best. However there is also a small section of armour etc. in the Wallace Collection. This is an art gallery near Oxford Street, and admission is free. I remember a lot of their armour is from Asia so I am not sure if it is exactly what you are after.

Tower of London has a great cache of medieval armor and weapons. I can't think of any others in London that would have as extensive a collection for viewing.

For purchasing, try the auction houses. I imagine anything of quality will be expensive. I haven't shopped antiques in London but I think that might be a good option for reproductions.

I love google. I had heard about a man who made swords on the Isle of Skye, so I thought that googling Swordsmith United Kingdom might bring up something interesting. Check out this site in Cambridgeshire. http://www.paul-binns-swords.co.uk/ I added Isle of Skye and found the the man I was remembering. I think I read about in Historic Scotland's magazine. http://www.castlekeep.co.uk/aboutme.php

Pam