Time capsule brings 1845 church to life
Alexandra Wood
Yorkshire Post

A chance discovery in the foundations of a forgotten building has delighted archaeologists in Hull.

It was the city's finest Victorian church, with a spire that dominated the skyline and was visible to thousands of train passengers arriving every day at Hull's Paragon station, who would set their watches by its clock.

Consecrated in 1845, St Stephen's Anglican church was badly damaged a century later during the Second World War.

The church authorities hoped that Hull Corporation would maintain St Stephen's fire-blackened shell and lofty 180ft spire and offered it them as a monument. But their appeal was rejected.

The planning committee had been inundated with pleas for help from every direction in the aftermath of wartime raids that had destroyed large swathes of the city and they said they could not justify spending £15,000 to restore the fractured, leaning structure. In the winter of 1955 to 1956 the church was demolished, becoming a paved garden in the middle of a cobbled square.

Soon it faded from people's memories – and there the story would have ended had it not been for a recent discovery by archaeologists from Humber Field Archaeology. Last week construction workers and archaeologists came across part of the foundations of the church during preliminary ground preparations for the new St Stephen's development off Ferensway. Set into a rectangular recess in the top of a foundation stone was a blue glass bottle containing a special time capsule.

Carefully wrapped inside a neatly folded bundle, marked "St Stephen's church", was a set of seven newly minted silver coins, dating to 1840, with a list of the psalms to be sung at the Consecration Service, and details of all the individual subscribers who gave money to pay for the erection of two new churches in Hull including St Stephen's.

The list of subscribers is a fascinating social document, which shows not only the efforts of individuals donating from £1 to £100 each, but also the sums gathered by groups or ships, for example the crew of The Tiger.

Dave Evans, archaeology manager at Humber Archaeology Partnership, said it seemed fitting that a record of the church's foundation should turn up at the start of the major construction programme for a development bearing its name. He said: "I've never come across anything like this before – it is a really nice find. It's great to get something from what was probably one of the most elaborate Victorian churches in the city.

"We've taken all the paperwork over to the conservation labs to have it restored. When it was found the bottle had been cracked by the weight of the stonework and everything got a soaking.

"The coins should be OK because they are pure silver and will need a minimum of cleaning." Archaeologists are keeping a watching brief on the development and expect to come across other 18th and 19th century buildings, including several churches and early hospitals, as they get closer to Park Street. Developer ING RED UK (St Stephens) Ltd – is considering using the find as part of an exhibition or display in the new development when it opens.