Norwich Castle Time Capsule Project
What does Norwich mean to you?
This is the question we posed to ten community groups and partners as the Norwich Castle: Royal Palace Reborn project enters its final stages. Opening August 2025, the Grade I listed Keep, originally commissioned by William the Conqueror, has been redeveloped with a £13m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and support from Norfolk County Council.
The redevelopment transports visitors back 900 years to the heyday of Norman England when Norwich was medieval England's influential second city.
The Norwich Castle Time Capsule Project invited contributions from ten community groups and partners across the city to fill three small time capsules. They were each asked: 'what does Norwich mean to you?' The objects received differed in many aspects but together paint a rich picture of life in our Fine City. You can read more about the groups involved and the objects they chose by clicking on the gallery titles below.
On June 28 2025, the three stainless steel capsules were sealed into an existing cavity in the Norman walls of the basement of the Keep. There are no plans to ceremonially open the capsules, but whoever discovers the capsules in the future will find the following message, included in each capsule:
Time capsule message
Hello from the past, (2025 to be precise!) Congratulations, you've found our time capsule! We sealed three capsules into this wall cavity in the Norwich Castle basement to celebrate a huge milestone in the history of our city. In 2018 we were awarded funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore this building to its former glory as a Norman Royal palace. As we prepare to re-open the 900-year-old Castle doors to visitors, we asked people living in Norwich of all ages to choose items important to them. Our hope was that one day these would be found and give future generations a glimpse of life here in the first quarter of the 21st century. Please look after the objects that were chosen and help us share the stories of the people who once called this fine city home. Take good care.
Time capsule contributions
Dussindale Primary School
Taverham High School
English +
New Routes
Art at Work
Norwich Castle staff
Norwich City Council
Norfolk Joint Museums Committee
Norwich Cathedral
