Dassett students hide time-capsule in Kineton barrow

Three pupils from Dassett CofE Primary School have sent a message to the future by burying a time capsule in an ancient style burial mound.
Una, James and Wilfred bury the time capsule in the Mid England Barrow NNL-190524-112419001Una, James and Wilfred bury the time capsule in the Mid England Barrow NNL-190524-112419001
Una, James and Wilfred bury the time capsule in the Mid England Barrow NNL-190524-112419001

The Mid-England Barrow, between Claydon and Fenny Compton, is still under construction but its blueprint dates back thousands of years.

The project is the brainchild of Sarah Smart and Richard Beeby, who decided to get the community involved with the build.

Dassett Primary headteacher, Suzanne Corey, said: “Mid-England Barrow contacted us and asked us if we would like to take part in trying to name the three chambers of the barrow.

Una, James and Wilfred sit in one of the chambers of the Mid England Barrow which will house urns NNL-190524-112655001Una, James and Wilfred sit in one of the chambers of the Mid England Barrow which will house urns NNL-190524-112655001
Una, James and Wilfred sit in one of the chambers of the Mid England Barrow which will house urns NNL-190524-112655001

“We ran a competition in school and had some strange and interesting names for them.

The headteacher added: “Then as a school we have also filled a time-capsule and the children have come up with the ideas of things to go into it.”

Winner of the chamber naming competition was Wilfred Stevens with his suggestion of Oak, Willow and Yew, which beat out such entries as Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

Wilfred was joined at the barrow by fellow students Una Nygaard-Gil and James Brierly to hide the capsule deep in the barrow’s wall.

Its location will be included in the lease documents and it will not be opened for 100 years.

When it is, the people of 2119 will discover a newspaper, Star Wars memorabilia, toys, letters from the pupils, Lego and many other trinkets of modernity.

The build, which will be complete by July, is being led by Joby Wheatley who has become an expert in barrow construction.

Joby said: “This is the fourth barrow I have built. We built the first one in the country for 5,000 years.”

Only a handful of people will know the exact location of the time capsule, a fact not lost on the children.

Una said: “I think it’s quite cool because nobody is going to be seeing this for at least 100 years.”

When asked what the people of tomorrow will find the weirdest inclusion the three children said in unison: “The freaky little toy.”

Owner of the barrow, Sarah Smart, added: “I think the toy is weird now.”