A piece of Mansfield’s recent history was uncovered this week as a time capsule sealed 25 years ago was officially opened at West Nottinghamshire College's Old Brewery campus.
Pupils proudly show off their items with college staff and Mayor Andy Abrahams.
The event took place on Wednesday (17 December) at the college’s Old Brewery campus on Littleworth – a landmark building with deep roots in the town’s industrial heritage.
Once a working brewery complete with beer cellars, the historic site has long been part of Mansfield’s story and has recently been brought back to life as a specialist construction and skills campus following extensive renovation works.
During those renovations in summer 2024, college staff made an unexpected discovery – a sealed time capsule within the former beer cellar. The capsule was originally buried in the year 2000, when the building was home to the Making It Discovery Centre, and was created by pupils from several local schools.
To mark the capsule’s 25th anniversary, the original participating schools were invited back to witness its opening and to contribute new items that reflect life in 2025. These artefacts will be placed into a new capsule in the new year, sealed and returned to the cellar for future generations to discover.
The ceremony began with opening speeches from Adam Thompson, head of centre for construction, and Gavin Peake, director of estates, IT and learning resources, who gave a brief account of his year working in Mansfield Brewery’s laboratories in the 1990s when he was a university under-graduate.
Adam Thompson, head of centre for the old brewery campus welcomed the schools.
Mansfield Mayor Andy Abrahams attended alongside teachers and pupils from schools that took part in the original time capsule-burial, together with students currently training at the Old Brewery campus in plastering, brickwork, carpentry and joinery.
Level 1 carpentry and joinery students Brooke Vaughan and James Dobb had the honour of cutting open the original capsule, revealing a snapshot of life at the turn of the millennium.
Level 1 carpentry students James Dobb and Brooke Vaughan opened up the capsule.
Items discovered included a Daily Mail newspaper and a page from the Mansfield Chad from 1999, a calendar for the year 2000, together with photographs, drawings and descriptions of life at home from the schoolchildren involved.
Mansfield Chad, July 1999, detailing the new Make It Discovery Centre which was located in the brewery.
Who can remember VHS video tapes?
There was also a wealth of data relating to healthcare and education at the time, with medicine bottles and even a set of denture teeth! The pupils enjoyed pulling out the envelopes and bags of information and artefacts which also included VHS tapes, a bottle of Mansfield beer and other Mansfield Brewery memorabilia.
The college’s engineering technician Kacey Gilberthorpe brought along a new plaque, which she has created from aluminium, to be placed on the time capsule to mark this week’s event.
Engineering technician Kacey Gilberthorpe with a new plaque to commemorate the event.
Children and teachers from St Peter’s Primary School, King Edward Primary School and Sutton Road Primary School joined college staff and students to share in the moment, before pupils added their own contributions to represent life in 2025. Artefacts from the schools included a school jumper, creative artwork, school dinner menus, badges and Pokemon cards.
St Peter's Primary School staff Pam Thompson (left) and Helen Strauther (right) attended the event with pupils Abbie, Leo and Logan.
A dinner menu and badges were just some of the things brought in by St Peter's schoolchildren
Sutton Road Primary School assistant headteacher Jim-Wakeland with pupils Faith and Henry, and the items they brought along.
Some of the items which King Edward Primary School brought along to go into the capsule.
Mansfield Mayor Andy Abrahams spoke about his memories of the town from the year 2000 and reflected on how times have changed. He brought along a biography about himself, a photograph, two paperweights and a print of an original painting created in 1999 of Mansfield’s marketplace by Heath Clark.
Mayor Andy Abrahams and his PA Anna Panfill with a print of the marketplace, set to go into the capsule.
Mayor Abrahams said: “This event felt like a moment of time travel, looking back at where we’ve come from, while being inspired by the ideas and energy of young people who are already thinking about the future. The excitement in the room has been palpable, and it’s been genuinely joyous to see how inquisitive and engaged they are with our shared history.
“What made this especially powerful is the setting. This is a building that was once discarded and left behind, yet through the vision and commitment of the college it’s been transformed into a place of learning, opportunity and purpose at the very heart of our town. By placing education, training and skills, particularly for the construction industry, at the centre of Mansfield, we are giving young people the tools they need for a strong future, while breathing new life into our town centre.
“This time capsule is more than a snapshot of today; it’s part of an ongoing story and a lasting legacy for this building, the college and the community it serves and perfectly reflects the journey we are on to revitalise Mansfield, honour our past, and invest in the next generation.”
Children and teachers from the visiting schools also toured the construction workshops, seeing current students in action on their courses and found out more about the kinds of careers they are interested in moving into.
Schools were invited to tour the Old Brewery's construction classrooms and workshops after the ceremony.
Adam Thompson, head of centre for the old brewery campus, said: “This has been a truly special moment for everyone involved, and I’d like to thank the pupils and teachers from the original schools, our current students and staff and our guests for helping to make it such a memorable occasion.
“Events like this remind us that education is about far more than skills alone – it’s about community, continuity and shared pride in place.
“To see young people from the community alongside today’s learners who are shaping the future of this building and our town, perfectly captures what the Old Brewery campus stands for. We’re incredibly proud to have restored this historic site and to be using it to inspire the next generation of skilled professionals, while preserving Mansfield’s story for those yet to come.”
College staff and construction students, and Mansfield Mayor Andy Abrahams, with some of the artefacts found inside the capsule.
Click here to watch this video of the time capsule opening.