Medical Buildings Time Capsule

Scope and Content

Note written by William Turnbull contating details about him, his wife Cecilia, and Thomas Wilkie, which describes their idea, along with three cuttings taken from The Scotsman. One includes an item on Popery in the Highlands by John Stuart Blackie, with a related poem on the establishment of Fort Augustus. Another reports weather conditions. The third includes coverage of a meeting of the Free Church Presbytery in Edinburgh.

Administrative / Biographical History

William Turnbull was born at Ancrum, Roxburghshire, 29 July 1834. On 22 October 1880, he and Thomas Wilkie had been working on the construction of the Medical School for about 2 years. That date found them working on the boiler house chimney and they sealed into the structure, a bottle containing their details, along with some cuttings from The Scotsman. The bottle and its contents were discovered when the chimney was demolished in 1965.

Access Information

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Acquisition Information

Acquired by Edinburgh University Library in 1965: sent to E. R. S. Fifoot, University Librarian, by L. D. Macmillan, Assistant University Secretary. Accession E 65/43.