AN historic Guinness time capsule that was sealed in celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II back in 1953 has – in keeping with the instructions attached to it – been unsealed to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.
The capsule was opened for the first time by the managing director of Diageo GB, Nuno Teles, at the Guinness packaging plant in Runcorn, as part of the company’s Coronation celebrations.
It was found to contain a bottle of Coronation Commemorative Guinness Foreign Extra Stout from 1953 and a selection of Sovereign Coins, as well as a newspaper dated 3 June 1953.
The liquid in the 1953 special edition bottle had been brewed at the St James Gate Brewery in Dublin, and then shipped to Liverpool on a Guinness-owned ship and bottled by Guinness Exports Limited.
The Coronation Extra Stout half pint bottle was heavily embossed with lion and unicorn attendants, from the Royal Coat of Arms, on either side of the Guinness trademark label, but was not on general sale in 1953, and available only as a gift to visitors of Guinness Exports in Liverpool and the Guinness Brewery at Park Royal in London.
The Coronation time capsule itself was laid down at Guinness Exports Norfolk Street, Liverpool – the precursor site to the Runcorn operation, which opened in 1970. It was sealed by the managing director at the time, Arthur Fawcett, who was famed for a number of innovations around the marketing of Guinness, with an inscription on the top of the cask for opening at the time of the next Coronation.
Carrying on Mr Fawcett’s tradition, a new time capsule was also sealed to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla, containing a selection of items showcasing the Guinness brand in 2023, the Diageo site at Runcorn and its employees, as well as the wider Diageo business.
That new capsule includes a letter to the opener, a list and photos of the team at Runcorn as well as a note of the site’s weekly production schedule, and a Guinness Nitrosurge device, which was recently launched in Great Britain.
Mr Teles said: “It has been an honour to mark the Coronation of His Majesty The King and The Queen by unearthing the historic Guinness time capsule at Runcorn. The site plays a hugely important role in the positive momentum around beer and Guinness, and it is a privilege to play a part in keeping traditions like this one alive.”
Time capsules are a long-standing Guinness tradition and in addition to the Coronation capsule, a separate box was laid down to mark the millennium in the year 2000 and is sealed on the site until the year 2050.
Operations manager at Diageo Runcorn, Jesus Mata, added: “The Guinness brand remains as iconic today as it was 70 years ago when the time capsule was sealed. Diageo has recently made significant investments in Runcorn to support our growth ambitions, deliver product innovation, and reinforce our agility to meet demand and provide excellent service to our customers around the world.”
