The gates are truly historic and a part of Nottingham's heritage, so we were very pleased to entrust our damaged one to George James Blacksmiths in Northamptonshire.
George James & Sons is the premier company for this type of work in the UK, and has undertaken restoration work for Royal Palaces and cathedrals - so it's only right that our gate should take it's place alongside them! The work is incredibly intricate, and will involve taking the entire gate apart and rebuilding it - needless to say, not an easy task.
Before any of this work could be started, the many layers of old paint needed to be stripped. This picture from a month ago shows the gate in bare metal for the first time since the 1880s!
Since then, the team at James have been carefully dismantling the gate into a kit of parts to repair the damage.
As an auction house, we have a deep appreciation for heritage items, but seeing these skills in action is something truly special.
The gate is a complex hybrid of wrought and cast iron. While the wrought iron elements can be reshaped at the forge, the brittle cast iron sections (marked with PXL pattern codes and a crown stamp) require a different touch.
Depending on the damage, these pieces will be brazed, metal-stitched, or entirely recast to preserve the 1886 design.
Watch this space for more updates as this iconic piece of Nottingham history is brought back to life!
