“Lost Secrets of the Past: A 117-Year-Old Message in a Bottle Discovered in Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre!”
Other names included architects, draftsman plasterers, and journeymen who aided in the theatre’s construction.
Capital TheatresThe note found inside the bottle, featuring the names of those who built the theatre.
Two of the architects listed were John Daniel Swanston and James Davidson, both based out of Kirkcaldy, as well as London-based architect John Tulloch. Also named were draftsman John Alexander Cameron, foreman plasterer George King and his son/apprentice George King Jr., foreman William Begg, and plasterers John Hutchinson, Andrew S. Law, and William Hunter.
“The redevelopment of the King’s has been a thrilling journey from the very start,” Gibson said. “Finding a note from 1906, the very year the theatre first opened its doors, is apt as we prepare for the next chapter in the theatre’s rich history.”
Mike HumeThe plaster crown which hid the message for nearly 120 years.
Members of John D. Swanston’s family have also donated some of his artifacts to The People’s Archive, including a set of tools, a catalog of images of plaster molds used at the King’s, and a photograph of Swanston in uniform during World War I.
These items and the letter, along with others, are set to be displayed in a special exhibit room at the theatre once it reopens next spring.
“We knew we had something really special when the bottle was uncovered. For 119 years, the bottle was waiting behind the crown — something that every audience member has seen since the theatre first opened in 1906,” said Abby Pendlebury, heritage engagement manager at Capital Theatres.
