The winners of a competition to find images to go in a new time capsule have been announced.

The top three photos were:

  • Kayla Hackney’s photo of Derby Cathedral
  • Steve Donald’s aerial shot of the Silk Mill
  • Tracey Stanley’s photo of the ram statue outside Derbion

Amateur photographers were invited to capture what life in Derby looks like in 2024. These three winning images will now be buried in a new time capsule within Derby’s historic Market Hall.

Kayla, Steve and Tracey will be invited to a special ceremony where the time capsule containing their images will be buried alongside two others that were uncovered during the £35m refurbishment, which is partly funded with £9.43m from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.

Contractors uncovered two sealed glass containers from the 1860s and 1930s behind a memorial plaque near the Guildhall entrance. Their contents included several historic items, including the Mayor’s seal from the 1860s, coins and newspapers.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council, said:

Derby is full of inspiration for photographers and these images capture the past, present and future of our city. It’s great that we can show future generations what Derby looked like in a snapshot moment in 2024.

“These photographs will be among the objects buried in our new time capsule at Derby Market Hall, which will give Derby a new cultural hub to be proud of. The capsule will give those who open it a glimpse of what life was like here in Derby in 2024. I look forward to meeting our competition winners at the burial event later this year.

Derby City Council has appointed design consultancy Hemingway Design to help bring alive an ambition to create a building that will be a hub for creatives, makers and traders, building on the city’s heritage of innovation and industry.

Extensive structural restoration of the Market Hall’s cast iron, copper and glass roof was finished in August 2022 and work continues on the Victorian building to turn it into an attractive retail and leisure destination fit for the future.

Businesses throughout the region are registering their interest in operating from the refurbished Market Hall, which will bring together the best of the region’s independent shopping, eating, drinking and entertainment when it reopens in Spring 2025.