Our September Object of the Month is battle‑ready

This breastplate would have been worn by a mounted soldier during the Civil War in the 1640s.

In the summer of 1643, the Civil War came to Gloucester when King Charles I and his Royalist army went up against the Parliamentarians to gain access to the city of Gloucester.

Breastplates such as this one would have been worn during the battles to protect the soldiers. The one on display at the Museum of Gloucester has a large dent on its right-hand side caused by a musket ball strike. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the armour at the time as it simply damaged it rather than penetrating the armour and harming the person wearing it.