Historic railway gates to be built from scratch after being declared ‘beyond repair’

Located north-west of Calcutts in Jackfield, the grade II listed gates were set to be renovated after concerns were raised about their deterioration.

After being inspected on a purpose built stand, the 38ft long gates have now been deemed to have no timber with any structural integrity left.

Now part of Ironbridge’s rich industrial heritage, they were built in 1862 as part of the Severn Valley Railway.

The railway was taken over by Great Western Railway in 1863 but has been disused since, leaving the gates to become a treasured local feature.

Engineers went out to assess their condition before funding was allocated for the restoration work to begin.

The assessment concluded that a large proportion of the wood had completely dried out beyond repair and will have to be replaced.

However, after further inspection it has been decided that the gates need to be replaced in full.

The gates were taken off site in April to Small Woods Trust, a local woodlands charity which has been working on the wooden parts, while another local firm, J & A Stevenson has been doing the metal work.

Listed building consent has now been applied for to replace the gates and recreate them to their original state.

Should the application be successful, an open meeting will be held in conjunction with local artists to use the old timber for an art project.

Ironbridge Councillor Nicola Lowery said:

”The crossing gates are an important part of our heritage and mean a lot to the local community and it is wonderful to see the level of detail and care being lovingly put into this project by Small Woods and officers at Telford & Wrekin Council to restore a piece of history in the Gorge.”

Ian Baker, chief executive at Small Woods Trust, said: “The last restoration of the gates was in the 1980s, and after looking at original photos of them, we think we could get them closer to their original state if we completely replaced them.”