Pupils bury time capsule as part of £3.5m revamp of Fort Nelson - Friday, 5 November 2010
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Older and younger generations came together to celebrate the burying of a time capsule on Wednesday (November 3) as part of the £3.5m revamp of Fort Nelson.
Pupils from Northern Junior School – who filled the time capsule – were joined by Second World War veteran Dennis Tree, who brought along his late grandfather’s Victorian spade with which to perform the honours.
Twenty Year Five pupils from the Portchester school filled the time capsule with a specially-chosen selection of items, designed to sum up life in Hampshire in 2010. Contents included a school jumper, copy of The News, class photograph, profiles of each pupil written by themselves, a school lunch menu, toy giraffe and even a Tesco catalogue to give an idea of today’s prices.
Mr Tree – a survivor of the Burma Campaign – was joined by the pupils and Winchester Mayor, Cllr Richard Izard, in burying the capsule and officially marking the start of building-work to create a breathtaking new gallery at the Victorian Fort. A second Victorian spade, used during the ceremony, was loaned by the Bursledon Brickworks Museum.
The gallery – newly named ‘The Voice of the Guns’ – is part of the ongoing £3.5 million redevelopment of Fort Nelson, home to the national collection of historic cannon and artillery.
Work to build the new gallery is the latest milestone in the project, which commenced construction work in the summer to help transform the Portsdown Hill museum into a visitor attraction fit for the 21st Century.
The revamp – part-funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £2m – will see the Victorian Fort refurbished sympathetically into a modern visitor attraction, complete with a new visitor centre with catering, shop and parking facilities, as well as brand new, state-of-the art education facilities including a “classroom of the future”.
The project is due for completion during the summer of 2011. The Fort remains open during the construction period and events are operating normally. For more details, visit our “website:“http://www.royalarmouries.org.
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Notes to editors
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson houses the national collection of historic cannon and big guns. The museum houses one of the world’s finest collections with over 350 cannon dating back over 600 years. The collection originated at HM Tower of London and has been on display in Hampshire since 1995.
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson also tells the story of the Palmerston Forts, built to protect Portsmouth from a feared French invasion in the 1860’s.
- Every day, visitors can see one of the big guns fired in salute, watch our resident actors bring to life characters from 1,000 years of history, explore secret underground tunnels and enjoy incredible views from the ramparts. An extensive programme of special event spectaculars takes place throughout the year.
- Fort Nelson is open every day except 24-26 December. April to October 10am –5pm (Wed 11am-5pm), November – March 10.30am – 4pm (Wed 11.30-4pm).
- Admission to the Royal Armouries is FREE.
- Admission charges apply to some events.
- Information line: 01329 233734
- Website: www.royalarmouries.org
- Email: fnenquiries@armouries.org.uk
- The Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour with sites at Fort Nelson, Leeds, HM Tower of London and Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- The Royal Armouries Museum should not be confused with Royal Armouries International plc, the private sector corporate hospitality business.