Steve,

I have been looking in some of my references on weapons and I found this. The V + R indicates that the weapon was made under contract, for the Crown, i.e. the British Army, by the manufactory in St. Etienne, France.

The marks on top of the barrell, a crown over a letter and a number, on this one what could be an F or E over 8 under the crown, are the examiner's proof marks as I suspected.

All these marks indicate this weapon was issued to the British Army. I spoke with a friend and he says the markings on the butt were probably;

V---indicating Royal service i.e Victoria
Lcs---The Royal Leicestershire Regiment ( 17th Foot)
6--company number

122---individual armory rack number

It seems that Lancers were not issued the 1853 Pattern Enfield.

I do not know if this is accurate, but it may help.

I saw another post about acquiring a new sight. To add a sight might depreciate its historical value.

Len