From royal hall to cannonballs: Rediscovering the many lives of the Woolwich Rotunda

This article is from Current Archaeology issue 430

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If you have heard of the Woolwich Rotunda at all, you will probably remember that it was, until it closed in 2010, the home of the Royal Artillery Museum, housing a large collection of military artefacts. It comes as a surprise to discover, from within the pages of a new richly documented Historic England monograph (see ‘Further reading’ below), that this distinctive building was originally erected as a giant tent, designed for use as a ballroom and party venue.

The unusual story of the Rotunda begins in 1814, with the defeat of Napoleon and his subsequent exile to Elba. His abdication and the Treaty of Paris, signed by France and the Allies on 30 May 1814, brought an end to 22 years of turmoil in Europe that had begun with the French Revolutionary Wars of 1792-1802 and continued with the Napoleonic Wars of 1803-1815. Napoleon’s invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 1807 brought Britain into the war due to a long-standing alliance with Portugal. Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852) led British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops to a series of decisive victories over Napoleon’s troops during the Peninsular War, precipitating the collapse of the French army and its retreat from Spain. This was then followed by France’s final defeat when Russian and Prussian troops entered Paris on 31 March 1814.

Though this later became known as ‘the false peace’ (because hostilities began again when Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to Paris in March 1815, only to be defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815) there was widespread jubilation throughout Europe from April 1814 onwards. London was lit up by illuminations and fireworks over three successive nights from 11 to 13 April. The French king Louis XVIII, who had spent seven years in exile in England, received a state reception before his return to France on 24 April.

On 7 June, a party of monarchs, generals, and ministers representing Britain’s allies arrived in London, including Tsar Alexander I of Russia, King Frederick William III of Prussia, and Prince Metternich of Austria. Three weeks of celebration followed, with banquets at London’s Guildhall, a grand military review in Hyde Park, a naval review at Portsmouth, and a ball at Almack’s exclusive assembly rooms in St James’s Street.

Before these dignitaries left Britain on 27 June, Arthur Wellesley arrived at Dover – his first home leave in six years. Newly ennobled as the 1st Duke of Wellington, he was roundly feted with a masked ball at Burlington House in Piccadilly on 1 July, a thanksgiving service in St Paul’s Cathedral on 7 July, and a grand dinner at the Guildhall on 9 July. Then, on 21 July, Wellesley was the guest of honour at the Wellington Fete, the first event to be held in the newly built Rotunda.

Welcoming Wellington

Originally known as the ‘polygon building’, the Rotunda was designed by John Nash (1752-1835) for the then Prince Regent (1762-1830; crowned George IV in 1820), and was erected in the gardens of Carlton House, the Prince’s home and the hub of royal life in London. Nash’s drawings (which survive in the National Archives and are reproduced in the book) show that the final design was in place by May 1814. It was intended that the Rotunda should have been built and ready for use in time for the visit of the Allied sovereigns in June, but despite the construction team working around the clock (including by torchlight at night), the scale of the work proved to be ‘too gigantic’ for that deadline to be met.