Bourne’s New Time Capsule Is In Place. And The Old One? Well…

Oct 11

2 min read

When it comes to the Town Hall in Bourne, there has been a tradition of burying a time capsule with one key element - coins of the realm.

When the previous Town Hall building in Bourne was demolished in 1820, fourteen gold coins were found of the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth, James I and Charles I. These were handed at the time to the Marquis of Exeter as treasure trove.

As the Town Hall building that we know and love today began to be constructed, it was decided that the tradition should continue. In the procession of gentry at the laying of the foundation stone, there was:

Mr Browning, Architect, with a Bottle containing coins of the present reign, and a memorial of the ceremonial written upon parchment, to be inserted within the stone.

Stamford Mercury, Friday 4 May 1821

We know that the floor of the Town Hall building was dug up in the mid-1990s as the council made changes to use the building as offices but we don't know whether those 1821 coins were discovered at the time.

Fast forward to 2026, our contractors Probus Construction have been digging up the concrete floor in the building and we couldn’t help hoping that this might be the moment. Local detectorist Chris Godfrey swept the area several times, adding to the excitement… but the 1821 coins remain undiscovered for now.

To continue the tradition, Bourne Town Hall Trust created a modern time capsule, kindly engraved by Hoppers Jewellers in Bourne.

Within it are included a print-out of the 1821 Memorial as published in the Stamford Mercury, the names of our trustees, information about events and activities we have held in the building, a range of photos from the earliest images of the building through to the current construction phase. Of course we also included a set of 2026 coins!