THE case of Sheffield’s missing park gates has finally been closed after 17 years.
They disappeared from one of the entrances to Weston Park, with mystery surrounding how a 20ft wrought iron structure could be removed without anybody noticing.
It was assumed to be a professional job, with police believing the ornate gates, listed for their architectural value, were to be shipped abroad, possibly to South America.
Replica gates were installed at the corner of the park off Western Bank, next to Sheffield University’s Firth Court, as part of the park’s lottery-financed restoration in 2008, and the question of whatever happened to the Victorian originals was left open.
Now, after all this time, they have turned up on a development site in Derbyshire after being spotted by a member of the public.
The two gates, each weighing a ton, are now being restored by local craftsmen and are due to go back into Weston Park in the summer.
The replica gates will probably be moved to the other side of the park, off Winter Street.
Named after Godfrey Sykes, who designed similar structures at the South Kensington Museum in London, the Sheffield gates were erected in 1875 alongside distinctive terracotta pillars.
They were padlocked together by park keepers one night in September 1994. The following morning university staff reported them missing.
Detectives said thieves, probably working to order, must have used a crane.
At the time, the council said: “These gates are part of the fabric of Sheffield and are irreplaceable. We think the theft was organised by someone with a big mansion who wanted the gates for themselves. I can’t believe they would be melted down – they are too valuable.”
In fact, they were valued at £20,000 – and they were not melted down.
This week David Cooper, the council’s policy and projects manager in the parks service, said the gates had turned up at the end of a drive on a farm redevelopment site in Derbyshire.
“A member of the public spotted them and alerted us. We are now in discussions with the property owner to get them back. We believe he acquired the gates in good faith. He was very co-operative and he was happy to return them.”
The owner had acquired them from a business colleague. Police were notified of the discovery and they were content to put the matter in the hands of the council, which is just pleased to have them back.
“We established from expert craftsmen they were the actual gates and we are now getting work done on them with a view to them being back in their rightful place early in the summer,” said David.
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