This year’s Heritage Open Day weekend (19-20 September) provided an opportunity to visit a hidden gem – the Royal Artillery Museum at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain. Part of its extensive collection is temporarily housed in Britain’s oldest surviving aircraft hangar, built in 1910.
The museum began life in the Georgian era at Woolwich, moving to interim sites in Wiltshire after the south London site closed in 2016. Plans are afoot to build a permanent museum to house the entire collection. In the meantime, anyone who wishes to visit the present facility should keep an eye on the website (http://www.royalartillerymuseum.com) for details of monthly opendays. It is also possible to book visits for groups, including school parties, and there is an extensive archive that can be consulted by appointment.
The objects on display illustrate the history of artillery, from an early Tudor saker (a type carried on the Mary Rose) to a 105mm light gun of the kind used in the Falklands War. There are examples of
field guns, mortars, and other weaponry from across Europe and the wider world. Illustrating World War I artillery, for example, a British 18-pounder is displayed alongside a captured 7.7cm German Feldkanone and a French quick-firing 75mm gun. These and other weapons, such as the smooth-bore 6-pounder ‘Waterloo Gun’ used by Wellington’s armies, will be familiar to artillery aficionados. Others, such as a 1.4-inch French falconet, dating from the early 17th century, or a Napoleonic-era Congreve rocket, are less well known. Visitors will appreciate the collection of artillery models, too, devised for demonstration purposes or as gifts for VIPs. A visit is highly recommended.
When was Hadrian’s Wall built?