Woolwich Rotunda

This book tells the story of a remarkable building, the Rotunda, and its unique landscape. The Rotunda has had two separate but equally significant lives – the first as a tented ballroom in Westminster and the second as an artillery museum in Woolwich. The structure was commissioned in 1814 by the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, and designed by renowned architect John Nash. Having hosted a major party celebrating the Allied victory in the Napoleonic Wars and honouring the Duke of Wellington, the Rotunda was dismantled and transferred in 1818 to the military garrison at Woolwich. There it was rebuilt as a permanent structure and opened as an artillery museum in 1820 – one of the earliest of its kind in the world. On its new site, the Rotunda formed an integral part of the Royal Military Repository, founded in Woolwich in 1778 as an educational facility for the Royal Regiment of Artillery and based at the Repository Grounds from the early 1800s. As well as outlining the site’s history, this book highlights its innovation and popularity and places the Rotunda and Repository Grounds in their historical context. The Rotunda only closed as a museum at the turn of the 20th century, after 180 years, and is now a high-profile building at risk.