Message in bottle from 1973 found on building site

A construction crew has found a message in a bottle from the team that last worked on the site more than 50 years ago.

Anthony Gibbons, from Newcastle, said his team had found the handwritten note at Hexham’s former swimming baths.

The document lists the names of the men who worked on building the baths in 1973 along with their trades and where they come from.

Mr Gibbons said everyone in the crew “felt quite proud and honoured” to have found the note.

The team is currently converting the site into 49 apartments.

Mr Gibbons said one of his bricklayers found the “pristine” note on Tuesday in a glass Schweppes bottle hidden in the cavity of an external wall.

“It’s not often you find little time capsules,” he said.

“If you see in it person, you would actually think it was written yesterday.”

Member of the current construction team have now devised their own version of the document.

Each name has been written by the crew member individually and, like the original list, also details their places of origin and job titles.

Unlike the 1973 list in which the vast majority of the men were from Hexham, Mr Gibbon said “the net has been a little bit wider” with his current crew of over 50.

“In 2025, Britain is a multicultural country,” he said.

“We have one guy working here who is from India, we have guys from Durham, Langley Park, Newcastle, Consett.”

The team’s new document has been put in a separate glass jar and placed back into the wall cavity alongside the original.

The team has done this in the hope that if the building is ever converted into something else, their names will be spoken about just like they are speaking about the crew from 52 years ago.

“You never know,” Mr Gibbons said.