Gateway at south-east corner of Weston Park

Summary

Park gateway, 1875 designed by James Gamble incorporating terracotta panels designed by Godfrey Sykes; terracotta components manufactured by M H Blanchard and Sons; wrought-iron gates designed by E M Gibbs.

Reasons for Designation

The gateway at the south east corner of Weston Park, 1875 designed by James Gamble incorporating terracotta panels designed by Godfrey Sykes and wrought-iron gates designed by E M Gibbs, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* as an impressive gateway with four elaborate terracotta gate piers incorporating replicas of relief panels designed by Godfrey Sykes for the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria & Albert Museum) and ornate wrought-iron double gates to the wide central entrance and wrought-iron single gates to the flanking pedestrian entrances.

Historic interest:
* the listed South Kensington Museum (V&A) is synonymous with its decorative terracotta, which was used extensively for the building as a direct result of Sykes’ influence;

* Godfrey Sykes, who had trained and taught at Sheffield School of Design, was notable for his skill and the design quality of his terracotta work, showcased on the South Kensington Museum (V&A), a memorial exhibition of his work being held there shortly after his untimely death.

Group value:
* the gateway stands at the south east entrance of the registered Weston Park, which also has a listed gateway to the south west entrance, and contains the listed Mappin Art Gallery and the York and Lancaster Regiment’s Boer War Memorial and War Memorial, a memorial to Godfrey Sykes, a bandstand and a statue to Ebenezer Elliott.

* the gateway has design group value with the listed memorial to Godfrey Sykes, which was also designed by James Gamble and incorporates a replica of a terracotta column designed by Sykes for South Kensington Museum (V&A).

History

The south-east gateway to Weston Park was installed in 1875 when the park opened, newly laid-out by the celebrated garden designer Robert Marnock. It was commissioned by Sheffield Corporation, together with a freestanding memorial within the park, to commemorate the life and work of Godfrey Sykes.

Godfrey Sykes (1824-1866) had trained and then taught at the Sheffield School of Design (renamed the Sheffield School of Art in 1857) and had also worked in Sheffield under the sculptor and designer Alfred Stevens during the mid C19. In 1859 he went to London to work on the architectural decoration for new buildings for the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens and then the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria and Albert Museum). Terracotta became the 'signature decorative material for the Museum' and was used as a direct result of Sykes’ influence. He died in 1866 of Bright’s disease while in London.

The style of the Weston Park gateway drew on the influence of the early Northern Italian Renaissance. The gates are supported by terracotta piers incorporating relief panels based on models by Sykes for the window frames of the main quadrangle of the South Kensington Museum. The design was by James Gamble, who had been Sykes’ friend and assistant. The terracotta was manufactured by M H Blanchard and Sons and the ornate wrought-iron gates were designed by E M Gibbs. An illustration published in 1879 in Pawson and Brailsford’s 'Illustrated Guide to Sheffield' shows the gateway without protective railings to the base of the terracotta gate piers, but these are shown on a 1904 postcard.

The gateway reflects the site of the original entrance drive to Weston Hall prior to its purchase as a public park. There was originally a similar terracotta gateway by Sykes and Gamble, with wrought-iron gates by Gibbs, at a northern entrance to the park from Winter Street, but these were demolished in 1952 to make way for the new University library.

By the late C20 the gateway was in poor condition, with the sculptural details obscured beneath layers of white paint which had been applied since the 1960s. In 1994 the ornate central gates were stolen. In 2007-2008 the park and structures within it were fully restored, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the City Council. The paint was removed from the gate piers and a terracotta-coloured protective coating was applied. New wrought-iron gates were made and installed; the original stolen gates were subsequently found and restored prior to their reinstallation in May 2011.

Details

Park gateway, 1875 designed by James Gamble incorporating terracotta panels designed by Godfrey Sykes; terracotta components manufactured by M H Blanchard and Sons; wrought-iron gates designed by E M Gibbs.

MATERIALS: terracotta gate piers with wrought-iron gates.

DESCRIPTION: not inspected, information from other sources. A large double gateway is flanked on both sides by a single pedestrian gateway, with the gates supported by four sets of terracotta gate piers. The two inner gate piers are taller and grander, both with a cruciform plan of square side columns and twisted circular columns to the front and rear, all standing on a plinth. The columns have moulded bases with enriched entablatures to the square columns and enriched capitals incorporating faces or owls to the circular columns. Set on top are panelled, cruciform pedestals capped by an urn finials with ornate swags. The square columns each have three relief panels to front and rear elevations; the panels include putti in various poses, an angel with a wreath, a crest with the letters VR and a lion with a shield. The side elevation panels are blank. On the rear of one of the gate piers is the inscription TERRA COTTA / 1875 / M H Blanc (incomplete due to damage).

The outer gate piers are single, square columns standing on plinths with moulded bases and enriched entablatures and moulded pedestals capped by ball finials. The shafts have three similar relief panels to the front and rear elevations and blank panels to the side elevations.

The central gateway has a pair of decorative wrought-iron gates and the pedestrian gateways each have a single decorative wrought-iron gate. The lowest parts of the terracotta gate piers are protected by ornate, semi-circular railings to the front.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

457015

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
White, D, Norman, E, Public Sculpture of Sheffield and South Yorkshire, Public Sculpture of Britain Volume Eighteen, PMSA National Recording Project, (2015), 224-225

Websites
Graves, S, Godfrey Sykes (1824-1866), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 20 January 2021 from https://doi.org/10.1093/ref.odnb/26868

Other
UDP Policy Background Paper No.4 1997: Sheffield's Historic Parks & Gardens, Sheffield City Council, provided by Historic Environment Record.

End of official list entry

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