The Lanes Armoury

This is a quintessential type of shop that comes to mind when I think of the South Lanes. That consists of exclusivity and expense!
As a kid, I loved this shop and what young boy wouldn’t like to check out random pistols, swords and items of armour. Since I became a martial artist, this shop became interesting for me for a lot of the fully legit folded steel swords they sell. Some of these swords are truly beautiful, though at the same time pretty much out of anyones price budget. This does question the quantity of sales this shop manages, but I guess it’s a specialist shop for a specialist market.
Whilst the owner is a nice guy and I have had a couple of very interesting discussions with him over swords, I always feel guilty for walking in. It must be pretty apparent on first glance that I am unlikely to pull out a cheque book and be leaving with an ivory carved full tang antique blade. Still, this a very nice shop to have a little window shop and a comforting addition to the South Lanes experience.

Surrounded by cute cafes, jewellery shops and fashion boutiques, The Lanes Armoury sticks out like a sore thumb. A specialist antique store run by brothers, it regularly stops tourists in their tracks with it’s powerful window displays featuring Japanese Samurai swords and World War II guns positioned in front of vintage Union Jack flags.
The military theme continues inside with a vast array of disarmed and polished weapons, helmets, shields, books and memorabilia. It’s not the kind of shop I’d choose to return to but if you’ve always had a burgeoning desire to hold a flintlock pistol, a Martini Henry rifle, an Islamic sword, a Brown Bess Musket or an American Civil War revolver…

My dealings with this shop, in the past, have been first class. They were of great assistance in re-​allocating my collection and who cares if profits are made. The shop IS gem to any collector, and even just lookers. Te kids seem to love it!!.