Museum of Army Music
Once housed at Kneller Hall, the Museum of Army Music told the story of British military bands—how sound organised marching feet and battlefield signals long before radios. Although the Twickenham site has closed, the collection survives within the Army’s heritage network, and selected instruments, banners and scores surface in partner displays and loans.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Sound as Command
Before radios, music = ordersBugle calls and kettledrums carried instructions over chaos; tempo literally set the pace of an army.
📍 Collections on loan / partner displays
Band Kit
Craft meets ceremonySilver kettledrums, embroidered banners, braided tunics—precision objects built to be heard and seen.
📍 Instruments & uniforms (various loans)
Kneller Hall Legacy
A training ground for bandmastersFrom the 1850s, the Royal Military School of Music shaped the sound of the British Army for over a century and a half.
📍 Archive references
Inspire your Friends
- Military music is logistics: getting a thousand people to start, stop or turn at once—at the right pace—using only air and brass.
- The museum’s former home, Kneller Hall in Twickenham, trained bandmasters from the 1850s until its closure in the 21st century.
- Collections and displays continue via loans and partner museums, so Army music turns up where you might not expect it.
