View source for The Science Museum at Wroughton

{{infobox Museum
|name=        The Science Museum at Wroughton
|established= [[1979]]
|location=    Wroughton, near Swindon, Wiltshire, [[England]]
|type=        [[Museum store]]
|director=    Molly Jackson
|website=     [http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about_us/about_the_museum/science_museum_at_wroughton.aspx www.sciencemuseum.org.uk]
|network=     NMSI
}}

''' The Science Museum at Wroughton''' in Wroughton, near Swindon, Wiltshire, [[England]] is the large object store of [[The Science Museum]] a major [[tourist attraction]] in London. The Museum is not normally open for public viewing as it is basically several giant warehouses.

==Origin==
The Science Museum took ownership of the {{convert|545|acre|km2|sing=on}} former [[RAF Wroughton]] airfield in 1979, to be used as a storage facility for the largest objects of the Science Museum. A collection of approximately 20,000 objects are currently kept in six of the hangers, from the first hovercraft to MRI scanners, and computers to (de-activated) nuclear missiles. The Science Museum at Wroughton is currently a museum store serving the conservation, object storage, and transportation needs of the Science Museum, and is not open to the public except during occasional Open Days or on monthly pre-booked group guided tours during the summer. 

The museum has struggled to find a use for the site and to fund upgrades to the facilities.  Most storage on the site lacks even rudimentary climate control.

The site is also home to the Science Museum Library and Archives, which are open to the public by appointment.

There is a consultation ongoing about disposing of some of the non core items from the tractor collection which were bought from a large disperasal sale several years ago when there was  plan to open a dedicated agricultural museum. It is proposed that items that are not of very rare or special historical interest and were other exaples exist in other collections (both public and private) the excess stock will be offered to other museums with the remainder place up for auction.<ref>[[Old Tractor Magazine]] news item in ? - 2009</ref>

==Items in store==
A few of the items in store here are featured in other articles. Items of concern to Tractors wiki are the Tractor collection and the Steam engines in the main but other vehicle and machinery related items are also in the collection here. 

{{Dynamic list}}

===Steam engines ===
* [[Aveling & Porter]] no. 721
* [[Richard Hornsby & Sons]] no. 1851
* [[J&H McLaren & Co.]] no. 112 [[Traction engine]] of 1881
* [[Merryweather]] Fire engine of 1863
* [[Sentinel]] no. 1718 Steam wagon of 1917
* [[Tidman]] pair of [[organ engine]] & [[centre engine]]s  ~ 1900
* Fairground ride
* Steam plough

===Tractors===
* [[International]] Mogul
* [[Ferguson-Brown]]
* [[David Brown]]
* ?

===Other Vehicles ===
* cars
* trucks
** [[Scammell 100 tonner]]
* to add

==See also==
* [[List of Steam Machinery Manufacturers]]
* [[Museums List]]
* [[Shows and Meets]]

==References / sources ==
{{reflist}}
* [[The Traction Engine Register]] 2008
* [[Old Glory Magazine]] Engines in Museums list

==External links==
* [http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ Science Museum website]


{{Museums in Wiltshire}}
{{Museums list}}

{{wikipedia}}
{{coord|51|30|44.1|N|1|48|46|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Science Museum at Wroughton}}
[[Category:Museums founded in 1979]]
[[Category:Science Museum|Wroughton]]
[[Category:Industrial museums in England]]
[[Category:Museums in Wiltshire]]