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Discovery of Time Capsule at Paderewski Hospital: LHSA to receive contents

10 June 2010

A time capsule containing documents from 1913 has been found during the demolition of the former Paderewski Hospital building at the Western General Hospital. The contents include minutes from the meeting at which planning permission was granted, a map of Edinburgh, copies of the Evening News and the Scotsman, a signed diary and a photograph of the leader of the Edinburgh Parish Council. Surprisingly, given the length of time that they have been buried, they are all extremely well preserved. We are delighted that they have been transferred to LHSA to be catalogued and receive conservation treatment.

The building where they were found was originally erected by Edinburgh Parish Council to serve as a children’s home and formed part of Craigleith Poorhouse. During the First World War the site was a military hospital. Following the 1929 Local Government (Scotland) Act it became the Western General, a municipal hospital. Between 1941 and 1949 the building gained its name following the establishment of the Paderewski Memorial Hospital. There, medical staff treated the many Polish civilians and army personnel who had found themselves in exile in Edinburgh. The hospital also provided practical instruction for the students of the Polish Medical School created at the same time.

The discovery was featured in several local newspapers, local TV news and on BBC Radio Scotland. An article is also available on the BBC News website.

The accession number is: Acc10/014

Items found in the time capsule

The items from the time capsule