Match-lock wall gun: HEN.M.424-1933

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart

Dating

17th Century, Late
Production date: circa AD 1690

Note

This is an early example of a musket used by the British army in the reign of Queen Mary – reigned 1689–94. It has a flintlock mechanism and the barrel is smooth bored and thick walled making it heavy so that the gun needed a rest to help steady it for firing. These weapons were not very accurate but when used in large groups they could make a significant effect. Loading was also quite slow as they were loaded with powder and ball down the muzzle and pressed hard down with a ramrod - a process taking around one minute. To overcome this slow rate of fire, musketeers were arranged in three rows one behind the other, the front one fired and then retreated behind the third row to reload, the second line fired and retreated like the first and so on enabling them to achieve a rapid rate of fire. The rest is a modern replacement.