Heritage Open Days 2020: Vokes’ guns

Every September, Heritage Open Days celebrates our fantastic history, architecture and cultural heritage, giving everyone the chance to explore hidden places, discover fascinating stories and try out new experiences. This year, faced with the challenges of COVID-19, we are celebrating Heritage Open Days online with a special series of features on Culture on Call.

In this film produced especially for Heritage Open Days, Ross Turle, our Curatorial Liaison Manager, looks at a collection of antique guns and associated items collected by local engineer and gun enthusiast, Cecil Vokes.

Vokes was an engineer with links to Hampshire through both his family and his business. His appreciation of engineering led him to put together an important collection of antique guns which illustrate the workmanship that went into their production. On his death in 1961, Vokes left his collection to Hampshire County Council and for a number of years they were on public display in Havant. This film shows some of the finer pieces from the collection which are now cared for by Hampshire Cultural Trust.


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Hampshire Cultural Trust

From museums to galleries to arts centres, we manage and support attractions across the county, welcoming over 740,000 people each year. Our charitable purpose is changing lives through culture.
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