Pictured: Theodore Backhouse, League of Friends Westbury Hospital and Steven Russell.
Location: The Lavington Westbury.
8th June 2018.
Picture: Nicola Salt
A SNAPSHOT of bygone times has been found at the former Westbury Hospital by the housebuilders who are transforming the site into new homes.
As part of the demolition of the building, a ‘time capsule’, which came in the shape of a disintegrating cardboard box, was discovered behind the hospital’s date stone.
Inside the box was a copy of the Wiltshire Times newspaper dated June 19, 1897, only three days before the first Westbury Hospital was opened in Westbourne Road. Alongside the newspaper was a sheet from a service held in honour of the hospital opening.
Also included was a brass lighter, a cigarette holder, and a tin of Gibbs Superfatted Cold Cream Shaving Soap, which contained timesheets from a J. T. Parsons & Son, Builders from Westbury
On the reverse of one of the timesheets was the names and addresses of the builder, architect, and clerk of works. The other had a further list of names, who it is assumed were the people who built the hospital, which opened in 1931.
The demolition team, run by Wiltshire-based housebuilders Backhouse, had been put on alert to look out for the time capsule during one of the planning meetings about the future of the site.
Chair of the Westbury Hospital League of Friends Erica Watson said the discovery represented how important the hospital’s history was to the town.
She said, “The League of Friends appreciate the developer’s commitment to recognising how important the hospital was to the community and involving us in decisions about what may be added to a new time capsule.
“It was very interesting to look at the items and we look forward to meeting with the Backhouse team again to discuss what may be added to the proposed new capsule for the site.”
The former hospital site will be the location for 54 design-led, high quality homes.
Steve Russell, managing director of Backhouse said, “Opening the contents up was indeed an exciting moment as, even though we were on the lookout for it, we were not sure we’d find anything.
“We now feel we need to do this justice by creating a piece of art that will also include the foundation stone and other important documentation given to us by the League of Friends
“They have been kind enough to go through the contents and give the artefacts a poignancy and relevance that has brought it all to life.
“The new time capsule will be re-buried with various other items next year and we’re currently seeking a non-plastic container that will last at least another 100 years, so the stories are preserved for other generations.”
