Livery Companies Archery Shoot

The Honorable Artillery Company Archery Club invites members of London’s Livery Companies to join them to perpetuate the science and feat of shooting longbows, to targets and marks, in Artillery Gardens.

In 1537 Henry VIII granted letters patent to the Fraternity or Guild of Artillery, ‘for the better defence of this our realm and maintenance of the science and feat of shooting longbows, crossbows and handguns’. This Fraternity of Artillery became the Honourable Artillery Company which moved from Spitalfields to Bunhill in 1640 and took over responsibility for shooting to the marks on Finsbury Fields, the southern part of which is now Artillery Garden.

Marks were wooden or stone posts, often sponsored by Livery Companies or individuals. ‘Scarlet’, the last remaining mark, sits at the top of the stairs in Armoury House.