A UNIQUE relic of the glory days of Fleet Street printing has gone on public display for the first time.

The Science Museum at Wroughton is the new and probably final home for a printing press which helped to record some of the last century's most memorable events.

Weighing in at 140 tonnes, the machine, made by the Wood company, stands nine metres tall, and covers a space 9.5m long and 4.5m wide. Rendered obsolete by the changeover to computer technology in the newspaper industry, it was in storage in Dartford until March.

It was then taken to Wroughton for the reno-vation which culminated in its unveiling yesterday.

Dorn Swade, the museum's head of collections, said: "As the last surviving press from Fleet Street, the Wood Press is already an icon of a great newspaper era.

"That was when Fleet Street was synonymous with the power to make or break political reputations, expose scams, support or decry wars, endorse or undermine gov-ernments.

"The Science Museum is delighted to have the press and to preserve this symbol of an era. Its full significance is still to be unpacked."

The machine was part of a line of presses installed at Northcliffe House during 1934 and 1935, and it operated until the late 1980s.

During that time, an era spanning the rise of Hitler, World War II and much of the space age, it produced copies of the Daily Mail and the long-defunct Evening News.

Other machines of its kind were dismantled for scrap.

The Science Museum at Wroughton is used to store large objects not housed at its sister premises in London.

Museum director, Dr Lindsay Sharp, said: "I have great ambitions that Wroughton may take its place as a major visitor attraction, to use the space to create meaning from objects and experiences and to bridge the gap between technology and people.

"We are developing new ways of engaging people to consider technology and its impact, and we propose to develop Wroughton in a unique way.

"This occasion, and the exhibit which interprets the Wood Press, is an early signal of things to come."

Details of opening times at Wroughton can be obtained by telephoning Swindon 814466.