Firepower – The Royal Artillery Museum

Firepower: The Royal Artillery Museum was a military museum in Woolwich in south-east London which told the story of the Royal Artillery and of the Royal Arsenal. The museum was a renewal of the Royal Artillery Museum, with roots in Woolwich stretching back to the eighteenth century. The museum closed in 2016 but is expected to reopen in Wiltshire in 2022.

Firepower – The Royal Artillery Museum
Location within Greenwich
EstablishedApril 2001
DissolvedJuly 2016
LocationRoyal Arsenal, Woolwich, South East London
Coordinates51°29′38″N 0°4′15″E
Public transit accessWoolwich Arsenal
Websitewww.royalartillerymuseum.com

The collection was housed in some of the former buildings of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, which was Britain's principal ordnance manufacturing facility from the late 17th century until the mid-20th century. The Royal Regiment of Artillery was formed in the Arsenal in 1716 and the regiment had its home in Woolwich for over 290 years.

History

The forerunner of the Royal Artillery Museum was the Royal Military Repository, which was established on the Royal Arsenal site in May 1778.[1] After a fire in 1802, the surviving artefacts were rehoused in the Old Royal Military Academy. In 1820 the main collection was moved to the Rotunda on Woolwich Common where it was opened to the public for the first time; the museum remained in the Rotunda for the next 180 years.[2]

The collection then moved back into the Arsenal, where Firepower opened to the public in April 2001.[2] All of Firepower's buildings were once part of the Royal Laboratory Department, which controlled the manufacture of ammunition; they are for the most part Grade II listed. The adjacent Greenwich Heritage Centre tells the story of the local people of Greenwich who worked in the Arsenal and made the guns.[3]

The following buildings were leased to Firepower by Greenwich London Borough Council, or were previously used by the museum's predecessor:

  • Building 40 once housed the Royal Military Academy. It provided an early home for the Royal Artillery Museum between 1802-1820, prior to its move to the Rotunda.
  • John Nash's Hyde Park Rotunda was rebuilt on Woolwich Common in 1820 to house the Royal Artillery Museum collections until 1999.
  • The main museum entrance opened into a new building, which housed the Modern Gunner galleries.
  • To the right of the main entrance, the former Paper Cartridge Factory (Building 17, 1855-6) housed the main Gunnery Hall as well as the History Gallery and other exhibitions.[4]
  • To the left of the main entrance, the former Royal Laboratory Offices (Building 18, 1855-6) housed museum offices and archives (James Clavell Library).
  • Building 41 (opposite the main museum) was originally part of the New Laboratory Square factory complex; it housed large Cold War-era exhibits.

Closure and future of the collection

Firepower closed in July 2016[5] and its buildings were acquired by Greenwich Council, which has hopes of establishing a "significant new cultural and heritage quarter" on the site.[6] The relocation of the museum was described by a board member as a "missed opportunity".[7][8] Greenwich Heritage Centre tried to fill the gap by creating a new permanent exhibition Making Woolwich: The Royal Regiment of Artillery in Woolwich. The project was supported amongst others by the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Royal Artillery Museums Ltd, Friends of the Royal Artillery Collections and the Royal Artillery Historical Trust.[9]

It is planned that the Royal Artillery Museum will be re-established on a site at Avon Camp West, adjacent to the village of Netheravon.[10][11] As of February 2020, a new two-storey building is scheduled to open in spring 2022.[12] Until then, the exhibits are being stored and conserved in a museum store in Wiltshire, but there is no public access.[5]

Future of the buildings

In 2017 it was announced that the Royal Borough of Greenwich has acquired five historic buildings around No 1 Street to create a £31 million cultural district. This includes Building 17, 18 and 41, which were all used by Firepower. The plan includes a 450-seat black box theatre that will be built on the site of the former museum entrance. Building 17 (and other listed buildings nearby) will house rehearsal studios for resident companies such as Academy Performing Arts, Dash Arts, Chickenshed Theatre, Protein Dance, Greenwich Dance and Greenwich+Docklands International Festival. The Greenwich Heritage Centre will move to the former James Clavell Library, until 2016 part of Firepower.[13][14]

Artillery Collections

The Royal Artillery Museum collections are designated as being of national and international significance by Arts Council England.[15]

In Firepower they were displayed as follows:

  • Field of Fire

An interactive exhibit with sound, smoke and screens to give visitors an idea of what it is like to be a modern gunner in war time.

  • The Gunnery Hall

The museum's main display of 20th-century weapons.

  • The History Gallery

The history of artillery from its earliest beginnings, with examples of artillery from around the world.

  • Medals Gallery

Some of the museum's collection of thousands of medals won by members of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, telling the stories behind them.

  • Modern Gunner

Bringing the story of the Gunners right up to the present day.

See also

Other artillery museums

References
  1. "Survey of London, volume 48: Woolwich, chapter 7" (PDF). Bartlett School of Architecture. Yale Books. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. "Collections level description" (PDF). National Museum of Scotland. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  3. "Welcome". Greenwich Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  4. Survey of London vol. 48: Woolwich. Yale. 2012.
  5. "Press release" (PDF). Firepower museum. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2016.
  6. "Royal Borough of Greenwich launches London's newest cultural destination". Royal Borough of Greenwich. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  7. "Woolwich Firepower Royal Artillery Museum 'to leave by 2017' – former board member hits out". Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  8. "A statement by the Chairman of the Royal Artillery Museum Board". Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  9. ‘Making Woolwich’ - A New Permanent Exhibition, 2016. greenwichheritage.org. Accessed: 22 February 2017
  10. "New Royal Artillery Museum at Avon Camp West". Bidstats.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  11. "Royal Artillery Museum: Initial Operating capability project" (PDF). Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  12. "Home". The Royal Artillery Museum. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  13. "New creative district for London in the heart of Woolwich". Royalgreenwich.gov.uk. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  14. Hill, Liz (30 March 2017). "Go-ahead for Woolwich creative district". Artsprofessional.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  15. "Designated Outstanding Collections" (PDF). Arts Council England. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
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