Cards Beneath the Floorboards TIME CAPSULE Competition
PLEASE NOTE – THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRY HAS NOW PASSED
During works at the Commissioner’s House, a single playing card has been discovered beneath the original floorboards. A Jack of Spades, printed sometime between 1725 and 1750, likely held by someone who lived or worked here almost 300 years ago.
Time and use have changed it. The corners have been clipped, the edges carefully cut. Under magnification, tiny feathers were found embedded along the top. It may have been repurposed as a tool, no longer just a card, but something useful, something personal perhaps? A small mystery, left from the past.
Now it’s your turn to leave something behind.
As part of the major restoration project, we will be sealing a time capsule in the roof of Commissioner’s House. We want it to reflect the people and stories of the Dockyard in 2025, something that will spark curiosity in whoever opens it a hundred years from now.
We’re inviting you to help us create a unique deck of cards, inspired by our historic find and shaped by life in the Dockyard today.
How to get involved
Design a playing card using the downloadable template below. On the face of the card, draw, write or design something inspired by the Dockyard in 2025. It could be…
A personal story tied to the Dockyard.
A ship or object you love.
A message you would like someone to find in the future.
Somewhere on the card, subtly sign your initials and your age. That way, when it is uncovered, your name remains part of its story.
Fill out the form below and upload your design to enter the competition.
We will also have a post box in the Mess Deck to post your entries.
We will select the best cards to form a custom Dockyard Deck, to be sealed in the time capsule. It will be a snapshot of today, waiting to be rediscovered tomorrow.
