Norton Armouries Film Ltd
The company was founded in 2000 by the Managing Director, who has had many years experience in the re-enactment and film industry and is a master armourer. He has produced armour and costume for many film and TV projects including Gladiator, A Knight's Tale, Beowulf, Band of Brothers, Leprechauns and Jack and the Beanstalk the True Story.
Under the Norton Armouries banner, the company has gone on to work on many major productions including Timeline, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Van Helsing, Troy, King Arthur, Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven (some of which are not yet released), as well as a wide range of TV and theater projects.
Although initially we developed this process for producing armour, we have also used it for props and special effects with great success. Our unique process has many other possible applications, some of which we are still developing, and we are always enthusiastic to try something new.
Our projects have been wide and varied and have included fully mounted knights, medieval saddles, horse harness and armour, shields, weapons, horses, as well as a wide variety of helmets and armour ranging from pre-roman to futuristic and fantasy.
The company is set in the beautiful village of Eastnor, which forms part of the Eastnor Castle Estate in rural Herefordshire, yet is only a 10 minute drive from the M50 motorway, giving quick and easy access to the rest of the UK. Due to the confidential nature of much of our work, we are not open to the public, although we are happy to welcome visitors by prior appointment.
On site we have several workshops including a traditional armoury where we fashion the majority of our metal masters, a modelling and moulding workshop, a modern industrial processing plant where we produce our polyurethane armour, costume and props, as well as full assembly, painting and finishing facilities.
Our team of highly skilled and dedicated craftsmen can take on a wide variety of projects and have the ability, if required, to take a project through from the design stage to the finished article. Each assignment is given the same attention to detail whether it be a one-off piece for a principle character, or fitting out an entire army of warriors.
All our armour and costume is made from a hybrid polyurethane which was pioneered for use in the film industry. As an armour material for the blockbuster film Gladiator. It quickly gained in popularity and has now become the preferred choice of stuntmen, both for its' look and its' comfort.
The advantage of using hybrid polyurethane rather than traditional materials is that it is very tough, yet lightweight and comfortable to wear, semi-flexible and will not corrode. It also allows us to produce large amounts of items very quickly in a wide range of realistic finishes.
