A 140-YEAR-OLD ‘memory box’ - inlaid into a specially designed cornerstone as part of an Old Trafford church in the late 19th century - has been updated and moved to a new home.

A Victorian time capsule was laid in the original foundation cornerstone at St Bride’s Church in 1877. More artefacts were include when the church was demolished and rebuilt in the 1990s.

Last year, St Brides III was rebuilt once again, this time at a new location, but the new church was built before the foundation stone could be removed.

However, rather than see the commemorative stone consigned to history beneath the new £20m multi-purpose Limelight community hub, the priest of St Bride’s, Peter Matthews, has overseen it being moved into the grounds of the new church.

The church leaders also took the opportunity to add a number of contemporary St Bride’s documents to the existing collection, including a copy of the celebration and dedication service order held to mark the new St Bride’s opening on March 6 2016.

A commemorative plaque has been erected at the spot it is buried.

Reverend Matthews said: “For a century old church to be demolished and rebuilt, as St Bride’s was in 1991, is unusual. So, to be demolished for a second time, and reconstructed at a completely new location, as happened to us earlier this year, is very rare indeed.

“Therefore, being able to contribute some new pieces of St Bride’s history within the Victorian memory box, which contains souvenirs and a cache of church publications from both the late 1870s and early 1990s, is a great way to maintain a physical and spiritual connection with the original church site.”

Matthew Gardiner, Chief Executive, Trafford Housing Trust, which is behind the design of the new multi-purpose Limelight facility which is being developed on the original St Bride’s site, said: “With St Bride’s having such a long and rich history, and the highly sensitive nature of making changes to any place of worship, we also knew that undertaking such a project would require the full support and co-operation of St Bride’s and the Diocese of Manchester, which we have had since day one.

“I’m delighted that the Victorian memory box is now set to be as much a part of the Limelight community hub as St Bride’s itself for many years to come.”