About 1831 the contents of the Spanish Armoury were moved into the crypt of the Chapel of St. John, which was named Queen Elizabeth's Armoury.
About 1790 the Grand Storehouse was built. By this time the armouries had become a recognized public show, and the Storehouse was filled with obsolete arms and armour, besides containing the Train of Artillery and a large number of service weapons.
The collection was added to from time to time, and in later years contained the wheel of H.M.S. Victory and many fine specimens of the gunfounder's craft. Here were exhibited the fantastic designs of one Harris, who fashioned Saul and the Witch of Endor, mermaids, an organ, "and other stupendous designs" from swords, gunlocks, and bayonets.
The sole survivor of these "miracles of ingenuity" is the Garter Star on the east wall of the Record Room of the White Tower. On August 30, 1841, the Storehouse caught fire and was completely burnt out, involving a loss of over a quarter of a million pounds.
While the larger portion of the armour was being collected for the Storehouse there was evidently an overflow which could not be adequately housed with the service arms, and these pieces were placed on exhibition in the Horse Armoury, a red brick building with mansard roof to the east of the White Tower and adjoining the present officers' quarter, known today as "C" Store.
In the early years of the 18th century Samuel Merrick one of the earliest and one of the most reliable authorities on arms and armour, was invited by the Duke of Wellington to rearrange the collections in a sham Gothic building called the New Horse Armoury, erected adjoining the White Tower on the south in 1825. This building was demolished in 1883, and the contents moved into the White Tower, where they were crowded together on the upper floors.
In the year 1914 the stores of service arms which were kept on the ground floor of the White Tower were removed to another part of the Tower precincts, and the whole of the White Tower was given up to the exhibition of the arms and armour.