Time capsule unearthed in Scottish theatre renovation

The contents of an historic time capsule found in the refurbishment of a Scottish theatre have been recovered - 119 years after the bottle was hidden.

The glass bottle was discovered at the King’s Theatre during the ongoing redevelopment project by theatre photographer and historian Mike Hume.

Hidden inside the plaster crown at the centre of the King’s Theatre proscenium arch, right above the stage, Mr Hume found it when he put his hand in a gap behind an ornate crown decoration while standing on scaffolding.

Dated to October 1906, just two months before the King’s first opened its doors to the public, the bottle contained a list of contractor names. It gives details of the architects, draftsman plasterers and journeymen or apprentices who worked on the construction of the theatre.

The hidden glass bottle, the note inside and Swanston’s postcard will now be included in The People’s Archive – a comprehensive digital platform offering access to programmes, photographs, playbills, press articles and oral histories of the theatre.

Mr Hume said: “This is the sort of discovery everyone hopes for on a project of this scale. When the builders of the King’s Theatre placed this special trinket at the very centre of it, they intended to honour the local people who built the theatre.

Mike Hume and John Robb | Capital Theatres

“It’s astonishing to think that this time capsule of history has been hidden in plain sight for nearly 120 years, silently bearing witness to the countless famous faces – and Edinburgh community performers – that have graced the stage of the King’s.”

Upon its discovery, King’s donor Mr Hume and the Capital Theatres team identified that the piece of paper inside the bottle was dated to 1906, the same year the King’s Theatre opened. However, to preserve the fragile document, expert conservators were required to safely remove its contents.

Shortly after the bottle was discovered at the end of last year, , the Scottish Conservation Studio removed the plaster seal and bottle top but could not remove the scroll of paper without potentially damaging it. Finally, in February, the base of the bottle was carefully removed by Laura Clair, a Glass Technician from the Edinburgh College of Art, to safely access its content.

The bottle was dated to 1906. | Capital Theatres

Fiona Gibson, chief executive of Capital Theatres, said “The redevelopment of the King’s has been a thrilling journey from the very start. Finding a note from 1906, the very year the theatre first opened its doors, is apt as we prepare for the next chapter in the theatre’s rich history. This remarkable find offers a poignant connection to the generations who have passed through the ‘Grand Old Lady of Leven Street’, the histories of which we will explore when The People’s Archive launches later this year.”