[4] Artillery was used by the English army as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, while Henry VIII established it as a semi-permanent function in the 16th century.

[5] Until the early 18th century, the majority of British regiments were raised for specific campaigns and disbanded on completion.

[6] An exception were gunners based at the Tower of London, Portsmouth and other forts around Britain, who were controlled by the Ordnance Office and stored and maintained equipment and provided personnel for field artillery 'traynes' that were organised as needed.

The regular artillerymen of the District Establishments were responsible for upkeep of the fort and maintenance of equipment, and would be brought up to strength in wartime with untrained personnel drafted in from the British Army or the Militia.

[14] During the 18th century, the British regular military forces, including the Board of Ordnance's military corps (the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and later the Royal Sappers and Miners) and the British Army (composed mostly of infantry and cavalry) became increasingly professional (various reserve, or local, forces also existed, including: the Militia, or old Constitutional Force, normally made up of infantry units; the mounted Yeomanry; and Volunteer units of various types, normally raised only during wartime), particularly in the fields of artillery and engineering; Britain lagged behind others in this area, with Vauban establishing the French Corps royal des ingénieurs militaires as far back as 1690.

[17] A major innovation in 1793 was the establishment of the Royal Horse Artillery, designed to provide mobile fire support for cavalry units.

The force continued to be a reserve tasked with home defence, embodied for annual training, and for the duration of wars or emergencies.

[5] Military expenditure estimates for 1872 list the regimental strength as a total of 34,943 men and officers, including those in India.

[21][28][29] In 1889 the number of divisions was reduced to three, and the Militia Artillery brigades were renamed again, mostly regaining some variation of their original territorial names.

Between 1882 and 1889, Militia Artillery brigades wore a divisional badge based on that of the Royal Artillery, except that the lower scroll and upper scroll, which on the Royal Artillery badge were inscribed "Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt" and "Ubique" (which indicated the regular Royal Artillery, like the Royal Engineers, served everywhere), were respectively inscribed with the name of the territorial division name (by example, North Irish Division) and left blank or covered in a spray of laurel (as the Militia and Volunteer Force were both home defence forces, the members of which could not be sent abroad on expedition without their consents).

[5] The third group continued to be titled simply Royal Artillery, and was responsible for ammunition storage and supply.

[39] The Royal Horse Artillery, which has separate traditions, uniforms and insignia, still retains a distinct identity within the regiment.

[5] Before World War II, Royal Artillery recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) tall.

In 2012, however, the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery was relocated to Woolwich from their former headquarters in St John's Wood.

These are:[75] In the British Army Order of Precedence, the Household Cavalry is always listed first and always parades at the extreme right of the line.

However, when the Royal Horse Artillery is on parade with its guns it will replace the Household Cavalry at the extreme right of the line.