Royal Artillery Museum Stores at Wood Road Hangars
Hangar 455, Wood Road, Larkhill, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 8QH
Our guided tours will take you behind the scenes at our Wood Road stores where you can explore: Unique and fascinating artefacts from our small objects store; Our incredible collection of field guns from the seventeenth century to the Second World War; The latest projects in our conservation workshop and The story of the historic buildings that now house our collection. The Wood Road hangars are Listed Grade II*, and were built in 1910. That year, pilots flying from these sheds took part in a major military exercise that finally convinced the Army there might be a use for aircraft in war. Larkhill became Britain's first military airfield, but was only operational until 1914, and the sheds are now almost all that remains of this key moment in aviation history. Until a couple of years ago, the sheds stored surplus furniture for the nearby Army camp but they have now been made available for use by the Royal Artillery Museum, providing office, workshop and storage space. The Royal Artillery Museum’s collection was established in 1778 for training purposes, and is one of the oldest and most significant of all military collections. It opened to the public in 1820 at the Rotunda on Woolwich Common, moving to the nearby Firepower museum in 2001. Firepower closed in 2016, pending the creation of a new museum near Larkhill, the modern home of the Royal Artillery. That project is ongoing, and for the time being most of the collection remains in various storage locations.
Timings & Tours
- Friday 13 September:
- 1000, 1200 & 1400
- Saturday 14 September:
- 1000, 1200 & 1400
- Sunday 15 September:
- 1000, 1200 & 1400
Location & directions
Hangar 455, Wood Road, Larkhill, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 8QH
- Directions:
- What3Words: nicknames.photos.refreshed Wood Road is accessed from The Packway, about halfway between Larkhill camp and Durrington. The hangars are at the southern end of Wood Road. Please park in front of the hangars, not on the residential road.
- Contact on day:
- Joanne Thomson
- Telephone number:
- +441980653333
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking required
- Booking conditions:
- Please visit our Eventbrite page to book tickets.
- Booking contact name:
- Joanne Thomson
- Booking telephone number:
- +441980653333
- Booking email:
- [email protected]
- Booking website:
- https://bit.ly/RoyalArtilleryMuseumTours
Accessibility details
The entire guided tour is wheelchair accessible, but please note that we have no accessible toilets, and our only toilets are reached by a small flight of steps. Please let us know when you book if you have any specific access needs.
Additional information
Please respect our neighbours by parking only in front of the hangars.
- Max no of people per tour:
- 20
- Est. tour duration:
- 1 hour(s) 30 minute(s)
