Kelvingrove Park Jubilee Gates

The works at the Jubilee Gates involved a combination of on-site and off-site works.

For the off-site works, the metal gateposts were taken down and transported to Covanburn’s covered warehouse for specialist repair and painting in a controlled environment. A similar process was followed for the lanterns that were to be repaired and brought back into use.

Once restoration was complete, the sections were carefully transported back to site for reinstating, and new wiring and lights were fitted, tested and commissioned. The project involved locating, where possible, any original metal or stonework that may have been stored off site. Several sections of the original sandstone pillar were found at Victoria Park, and the original gates were found at Bellahouston Park.

The existing gates were found to be in a dilapidated condition, so an extensive refurbishment involving new cast pieces as well as new external frames was required. We also found that around 90% of the decorative flower petals were missing and therefore needed to be replaced. Patterns were produced to copy the original metalwork, and castings were forged.

The central cast iron columns had to be removed to allow new substantial concrete foundations to be installed. Base plates were attached to the columns to provide added stability.

The sandstone columns and gate pintles were aligned using a theodolite to give perfect lines, and a fully encapsulated scaffold was erected to allow shot blasting and a comprehensive paint system to be applied.