History of the Metropolitan Police Service by the end of the 19th century. During the 1860s, the flintlock pistols that had been purchased in 1829 were decommissioned from service, being superseded by 622 Beaumont–Adams revolvers firing the .450 cartridge which were loaned from the army stores at the Tower of London following the Clerkenwell bombing. In 1883, a ballot was carried out to gather information on officers' views on whether they wished to be armed, and 4,430 out of 6,325 officers serving on outer divisions requested to be issued with revolvers. The now obsolete Adams revolver was returned to stores for emergencies, and the Bulldog 'Metropolitan
London Metropolitan Archives London Metropolitan Archives The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its present name in 1997, having previously been known as the Greater London Record Office. It is administered and financed by the City of London Corporation. The archive is based at 40 Northampton Road, Clerkenwell, London. It attracts over 30,000 visitors a year and deals with a similar number of written enquiries. LMA's extensive holdings amount to over 72 miles