Town House Extension Foundation Stone

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Town House Extension Foundation Stone

The foundation stone of the Aberdeen Town House extension on Broad Street.

As stated on the stone, it was laid by Lord Provost Robert S. Lennox on 17th November 1975.

The city architects responsible for the extension were I. A. Ferguson and T. C. Watson. It was built by Taylor Woodrow Construction (Scotland) Ltd.

The stone also makes reference to a casket buried five metres below the foundations to commemorate the dissolution of the Corporation of the City of Aberdeen as part of local government reform.

The casket ceremony was held on 15th May 1975 shortly after the last meeting of the Aberdeen Town Council which was being replaced by the City of Aberdeen District Council.

The casket ceremony was the final act of John Smith as lord provost. The official switch over of councils was marked by the "Bon-Accord" bell of the West Church of St Nicholas tolling from 11:50pm to midnight on 15th May. Earlier in the day saw a fireworks display at the Queens Links, pipe bands and a special lunch and church service for members and officials of the corporation. See local newspaper coverage from the time for more details on the occasion.

Around 80 people, including councillors, family and Taylor Woodrow employees watched Lord Provost John Smith place 29 items of interest into the copper clad box. Smith joked, "About the year 3048, an unsuspecting archaeological digger may come upon this box and he will no doubt remark on my genius."

Among the buried items were copies of the Press & Journal and the Evening Express, local books, records and cassettes of Scottish music, local government data, sets of coins of the realm and postage stamps, local stones, a phial of North Sea oil and plans for the Town House extension.

The casket was placed on a crane hook by Aberdeen Town House project manager Tom Nisbet and guided into the ground by foreman Andrew Benzies.

The ceremony was reported in local newspapers and the July 1975 issue of the construction company's magazine, Taywood News.

Broad Street

Aberdeen City Council

David Oswald

 

MM01_06

Aberdeen Local Studies

 

Yes

Yes