Post by Admin on Feb 13, 2016 15:45:08 GMT
'Message in a bottle’ uncovered at Southampton's Civic Centre.
A message dating from 1935 containing a warning of troubled times to come (pictured right) has been uncovered by masons restoring damaged Portland stone at Southampton Guildhall, which is part of the city's Civic Centre.
The time capsule, fashioned from what is thought to be a lemonade bottle, contained a message written in pencil on the back of a cigarette packet which reads:
19th September 1935
Stanley Jeffery
George Groves
Fred Pearce
Mussolini threatens war.
Further research has revealed that the mention of war in the message refers to the ongoing 'Abyssinia Crisis' at the time, with Mussolini rejecting a peace treaty offered by the League of Nations to end the conflict on the previous day.
Masons from stonework specialists PAYE uncovered the capsule during work to restore the stonework across the city's Grade II* listed Civic Centre, under a contract from Southampton City Council.
The items has been passed to Southampton City Council’s Arts & Heritage service for restoration and further analysis. They will then be held in the city's archives and exhibited at a later date.
PAYE plan to replace the message with a new capsule, containing the names of the masons who made the recent discovery alongside details of the current restoration project.
www.southampton.gov.uk/news/article.aspx?id=tcm:63-378313
A message dating from 1935 containing a warning of troubled times to come (pictured right) has been uncovered by masons restoring damaged Portland stone at Southampton Guildhall, which is part of the city's Civic Centre.
The time capsule, fashioned from what is thought to be a lemonade bottle, contained a message written in pencil on the back of a cigarette packet which reads:
19th September 1935
Stanley Jeffery
George Groves
Fred Pearce
Mussolini threatens war.
Further research has revealed that the mention of war in the message refers to the ongoing 'Abyssinia Crisis' at the time, with Mussolini rejecting a peace treaty offered by the League of Nations to end the conflict on the previous day.
Masons from stonework specialists PAYE uncovered the capsule during work to restore the stonework across the city's Grade II* listed Civic Centre, under a contract from Southampton City Council.
The items has been passed to Southampton City Council’s Arts & Heritage service for restoration and further analysis. They will then be held in the city's archives and exhibited at a later date.
PAYE plan to replace the message with a new capsule, containing the names of the masons who made the recent discovery alongside details of the current restoration project.
www.southampton.gov.uk/news/article.aspx?id=tcm:63-378313