Village buries time capsule with help from pupils

The activity formed part of the celebrations around the establishment of the new residential village, which has been created by award-winning later living developer Renaissance Villages.

The event was designed to give the school children an insight into local history and the future, as well as introduce them to the new homes in the community.

Children in years three and four at Colgate Primary School helped to create items to go inside the time capsule, including drawings of what they think homes of the future will look like, inspired by the collection of new homes that Durrants Village offers for the over 55s in West Sussex.

Village manager Frank Postel and Durrants Village resident Richard Buckland previously visited the class of children at the school to introduce Durrants Village and to ask for their help with creating these items to go inside the time capsule.

Mr Buckland, who has always lived in the Horsham area, talked to the children about the history of the surrounding area, the different homes he has lived in since childhood and how home design has changed in his lifetime.

The children delivered their drawings to Durrants Village ahead of the burial event in order to enter them into a competition for the best drawings of ‘homes of the future’.

On Monday 21 May, the children returned to the village for the burying of capsule beside the village’s private lake, and the winners of the drawing competition were presented with prizes of books on the subject of time travel.

The children met other village staff and residents, as well as Peter Burgess, chairman councillor for Horsham District Council; Sheila Marley, chair for Colgate and Faygate Parish Council; and Beverly Clayden, clerk for Colgate and Faygate Parish Council.

At the burial ceremony, chairman Peter Burgess talked to the school children about their local history, the history of Durrants Village and the significance of the time capsule project which they had undertaken. The children were then treated to an ice-cream each to thank them for their drawings.

Also placed inside the time capsule were items representing Durrants Village and the history of the site it occupies, including an autobiographical snapshot of the staff and some of the residents at Durrants Village, an aerial map of the Horsham area as it is today and the 2018 Royal Mint collection of coins.

Rebecca Parker, events manager at Renaissance Villages, which is part of the Inspired Villages Group, comments: “We wanted to do something to firmly establish Durrants Village as a new chapter in the history of the Faygate area in West Sussex, and to create a fun and informative activity for the local primary school children.

“We hope the activity was interesting for the school children and that it has helped to inform their understanding of their local history, the future, how we live and of community. It was an excellent event where the children left feeling inspired by what they had learned.”

For more information, visit www.durrantsvillage.co.uk