Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum

The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum tells the story of three historic cavalry regiments: the Royal Lancers, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry and the South Nottinghamshire Hussars. It sits inside Thoresby Hall, a grand country house in Nottinghamshire surrounded by parkland and gardens. The museum moved here in 2011 after spending decades at Belvoir Castle. Its collection began in 1964 as the Queen’s Royal Lancers Regimental Museum. After the lease ended in 2007, funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund helped relocate the displays to Thoresby Hall. Princess Alexandra opened the new museum in July 2011. In 2023 thieves cut through the floor and took a group of silver military antiques, including a gilt rosewater dish linked to the Wimbledon women’s singles trophy. Visitors find uniforms, medals and weapons that show how these regiments fought over three centuries. A notable item is the bugle played at the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War. The rooms sit within Thoresby Hall’s courtyard, where a Stonebridge Trust lease keeps the museum open. The setting adds a sense of history to every display.