Artillery Passage London & the Honourable Artillery Company

Artillery Passage London and the Honourable Artillery Company

The history of London is often revealed in it’s street names and Artillery Passage Spitalfields is one such case.

    • In the C16th the area was wide open fields and lay just outside the city walls
    • In 1547, the Guild of St George, received a charter of incorporation from Henry VIII and according to the charter the guild was for:

‘the better the increase of the defence of this realm and maintenance of the science and feat of shooting longbows, cross bows and hand guns’

    • Permission was given for them to practise their shooting in the open fields, just outside the city walls
    • Their practise ground gave rise to the name ‘Gentlemen of the Artillery Garden’

The Artillery barracks that were subsequently built by these grounds gave rise to the numerous places in the area being called ‘Artillery’, including Artillery Passage

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