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 including our incredible collection of field guns from the 17th century to modern day, the latest projects in our conservation workshop and the story of the historic hangars that now house our objects.
The Wood Road hangars are Listed Grade II*, and were built in 1910. 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 few 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 and moved to the 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.
This year, we are also having dedicated talks on researching Gunner Family History, and Larkhill, the birthplace of Military Aviation. Please see our Eventbrite listings for further information.
Timings & Tours
- Thursday 18 September:
- 1000 & 1400 - Talk, Researching Gunner Family History
- Friday 19 September:
- 1000 & 1400 - Guided Tours of the Stores
- Saturday 20 September:
- 1000 & 1400 - Guided Tours of the Stores
- Sunday 21 September:
- 1000 & 1400 - Talk, Larkhill - the Birthplace of Military Aviation
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:
- Tickets for these events are available through our Eventbrite page: https://bit.ly/RoyalArtilleryMuseumTours If you no longer require tickets that you have booked, please log on to your Eventbrite to cancel the tickets (or contact [email protected]). This will notify the people on the waiting list that spaces are available. Thank you.
- Booking website:
- https://bit.ly/RoyalArtilleryMuseumTours
- Booking opens:
- 20 Aug 2025 12:00 AM
- Booking closes:
- 17 Sep 2025 12:00 AM
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
Is parking available? Parking is available in front of our Hangars. Please do not park on the residential road. Will refreshments be available? We are not able to provide refreshments during these short tours of our store. Eating and drinking around the artefacts is discouraged. Is the tour suitable for children? Although we welcome children of all ages, please be aware that this is a guided tour and we do not have any children's activities available. Children must be supervised by an adult, and be considerate of other visitors on the tour.
- Max no of people per tour:
- 20
- Est. tour duration:
- 1 hour(s) 30 minute(s)
