Whilst the museum is closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, why not take a look at the museum from the comfort of your own home!  

Visitors to HorsePower Museum may wonder why there are no exhibits devoted to The 14th/20th King’s Hussars and its predecessor regiments.  Its collection used to be displayed in the Museum of Lancashire in Preston until it was closed. The collection was then moved to our store in Winchester and we are working behind the scenes to display it as an integral part of the story of The King’s Royal Hussars. Once our re-design plans are confirmed and funding is available, we will post regular updates on this site and social media.  

HorsePower Museum Virtual Tour

Loading...

Visit our museum

We welcome you to HorsePower, the Museum of The King’s Royal
Hussars, which was recently awarded the status of Full Accreditation by the Museums Libraries & Archives Council. The museum which is also supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund is one of the founder members of Winchester’s Military Museums, a partnership of five museums located in Peninsula Square and Lower Barracks, Winchester.

On your arrival at the museum, a member of our museum staff will greet you and direct you to the opening audio-visual display where you can sit and relax. After a brief introduction you can follow the history, spanning three centuries, of six famous regiments that through amalgamations have formed the present day King’s Royal Hussars.

You will find colourful uniforms, hear the sounds of battle and listen to regimental band music; you can try on a real military busby and sit on a saddle in the stable where you will experience the smell of horses and leather.

Look at displays of medals, weapons, military models, equipment and a fascinating collection of pictures and photographs which bring to life service in India and South Africa. There are life size horses and an interactive display taking you to the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava.

Experience trench warfare in World War 1, see the actual cupboard where a soldier was hidden from the enemy for over three years, and a genuine World War 2 armoured vehicle. Discover what the regiments did during the Cold War, take a virtual tour of a Challenger tank and listen to the tank crewmen’s stories.

Read the story of how Sergeant Henry Engleheart of the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own) rescued a comrade and his horse while under heavy shell and rifle fire from enemy Boers in South Africa in 1900. See his Victoria Cross and all his medals. Also during the Boer War, a Victoria Cross was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Milbanke Bt, when he was a Lieutenant serving with the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own), for rescuing a comrade under fire although severely wounded himself. In the Crimean War in 1854, Lieutenant Alexander Dunn, serving with the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert’s Own), was awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the lives of two comrades during the Charge of the Light Brigade.

You can conclude your tour by watching a slide show of The King’s
Royal Hussars on operations in Afghanistan and visiting the museum shop where there are goods for sale to suit all pockets and ages. Afterwards you can go to the Café Peninsula which is within easy reach at the entrance of the site. It is open daily (less Sundays and Mondays) and there you can enjoy a refreshing drink and sample the delicious snacks which are available.