YOUNGSTERS found the time and the place to leave gifts for future generations – to be opened 300 years from now.
Brims Construction is currently undertaking work transforming the iconic Gandhi’s Temple in South Shields into a seafood restaurant for well-known town fish and chip business Colmans.
Brims project manager John Wardropper came up with the idea of working with local schoolchildren to bury a Time Capsule to be opened three centuries from now.
Youngsters from Westoe Crown Primary School collected a selection of everyday items to leave as mementos of our era.
Year Six pupil Dylan Parker, aged 11, collected some nuts and bolts believing construction would have moved on by then, and these would be a relic from the past.
Bonnie-Belle Atack, aged 10, said: “I put in my sister’s old smart phone as they’re always changing and technology would have progressed even more by then.”
While Millie Storey, also aged 10, handed over a Poppy badge in the hope there would not have been any more major world conflicts between now and then.
Sunderland-based Brims Construction registers its sites with the Considerate Constructors Scheme and works closely with local schools and other organisations when on site.
Brims business development manager Kim Watson said: “We are a business which puts an emphasis on fulfilling our corporate social responsibility and enjoys engaging with the communities in which we operate.”
John Wardropper added: “When we were clearing the site we found hundreds of old bottles from the former Shields brewery, and medicine bottles, and the idea struck that it would be good to bury something ourselves for future generations.”
School History Co-ordinator Lea Dobson said it had been difficult to fit everything in to the capsule and so they included photos of many everyday objects.
She continued: “The children’s choice seemed to depend on the year they are in, with Year Six choosing video games and smart phones and the younger ones going for stationery and everyday items such as knives and forks.”
The capsule was inscribed; ‘This Time Capsule was buried on 14th December 2016 by children from Westoe Crown Primary School, in association with Colmans Caterers & Brims Construction, to celebrate the construction of the new Seafood Temple’.
A plaque will be installed in the new seafood restaurant informing customers of this link to the future, and the past.
Colmans Seafood Temple is expected to open in the Spring and is being developed by husband and wife Richard and Frances Ord and their sons Dominic and Richard.
Richard Ord, senior, said: “It’s a fantastic thing to do and some of the ideas from the children are amazing. We are a business that is proud to be part of the South Shields community and are delighted to be working with our local schools.”
The development will create 35 jobs. The new Colmans Seafood Temple was originally built as a community seating shelter and public toilets in 1931, and later used as a bandstand.
Mr Ord added: “Colmans Seafood Temple will offer everyday quality and value for money, featuring a cocktail and oyster bar and a takeaway which will, of course, serve our famous fish and chips.”
The shelter sits on the eastern side of Sea Road, adjacent to Sandhaven Beach and Gypsies Green Stadium, South Shields.