A 100-year-old time capsule giving a rare glimpse into the past has hailed as a "brilliant surprise" after it was unearthed as a school was being demolished.
Contractors working for South Ayrshire Council uncovered the capsule during demolition works at the former Carrick Academy building in Maybole, about 50 miles southwest of Glasgow. The capsule dates back to when the school was built in 1925 and was transferred to the Ayrshire Archives centre, in nearby Ayr, for opening and further inspection.
Archive staff opened the glass time capsule and found a trove of artefacts, including coins, newspapers, documents and some business cards of contractors who it is believed worked on the building nearly a century ago. Unfortunately, water managed to seep into the capsule and, consequently, the records were damaged.
“The time capsule is a fantastic discovery, and a lasting legacy of the former Carrick Academy," said South Ayrshire Council's Portfolio Holder for Education, Councillor Stephen Ferry. "It’s important that we do all we can to preserve precious finds like this and the Ayrshire Archives team have done just that in this instance. It’s also great that we’ve found a way to ensure the items can be on permanent display at the new Maybole Campus and I’ll look forward to seeing the new vinyls in situ.”
According to AyrshireLive, some parts of the items were still legible - including a front page of The Ayrshire Post dated Friday, June 19, 1925 and an envelop which the team managed to clean enough to transcribe. It reads, ‘Who find may keep. Present day coins of the Realm. William Reid Master of Works Ayrshire Education Authority.’
The capsule's contents underwent processing in the archive centre workroom that allowed the records to dry out, then everything was cleaned using smoke sponges. All of the items are not in the archives store, where the temperature and humidity is monitored to ensure the long-term preservation of records, so that they can be enjoyed by generations to come.
While the items that were inside the time capsule are too fragile to be out on permanent display, plans are underway to create large vinyls that show images of the capsule and its contents. These will be installed inside the new Maybole Community Campus so pupils, staff and visitors can enjoy a trip back in time.
South Ayrshire Council’s Portfolio Holder for Buildings, Housing and Environment, Councillor Martin Kilbride, said: “It was a brilliant surprise when our contractors made us aware that they’d come across a time capsule during the demolition of the Carrick Academy building. I’m pleased that we’ve been able to recover all items from the glass capsule and our Archives team have done a wonderful job in cleaning and preserving these. Thanks to their specialist skills, the contents of the capsule will be around for many more years to come.”