The HAC (Honourable Artillery Company)

The HAC is ideal for conferences, meetings, weddings, gala dinners, sporting events, outdoor and indoor parties.  It is an 18th century mansion with a five acre Artillery Garden making it a stunning location for summer parties and weddings as well as for some sporting events.

The HAC is the oldest regiment in the British Army and the second most senior unit of the Army Reserve.  It originated in 1537 when Henry VIII granted a charter to the ‘Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handguns’.  In 1538 the organisation leased an area in Bishopsgate and trained there until some time in the 1560s.

There were many changes over the years, and the company changed location and names several times.

Prince George of Denmark and Norway was appointed by his wife, Queen Anne in 702 to be Captain-General.  He wasn’t very interested in the Company and it soon was the victim of financial neglect when he died in 1708.

George I gave the Company £500 towards the building and the furnishing of the Armoury House in 1735.

Since 1768 the HAC has provided guards of honour in the City for visiting members of the Royal Family and overseas Heads of State or Commonwealth Prime Ministers.

The HAC is steeped in history and it all makes for very interesting reading.

The HAC has a motto which is Arma Pacis Fulcra which is loosely translated as ‘armed strength for peace’.

‍