The 150-year-old Pearson Park archway will be officially reopened this week.
The gateway to the park will be reopened by the Lord Mayor of Hull on Thursday after a year-long project to renovate the historic structure.
Councillor Steve Wilson will be joined by teams from the Pearson Park Trust, Hull City Council’s Pearson Park project and National Lottery Heritage Fund, at the ceremony.
An exhibition looking at the history of the gates will be open from 2pm to 6pm. Visitors to the event will be treated to music and entertainment — and a free mince pie.
The Gateway has gates! This is the first time in generations that the gateway has been seen with its gates. Faithfully recreated by @LostArtLimited and weighing in at 3/4 tonne each 😲 Don’t they look great 😍 @HeritageFundNOR @Hullccnews pic.twitter.com/p8bm4s3TV9
— Pearson Park NLHF (@pearsonparknlhf) 12 December 2019
Councillor John Fareham, chairman of the Pearson Park Trust, said: “To see the archway in a state not seen by many generations is incredibly moving and I’m so pleased to chair the Trust so involved in such an important project for this area of the city.
“We’d love to see lots of people come down on Thursday to help us celebrate and commemorate this historic event. The opening of the gates is a key milestone in this project and work will continue to ensure the project is complete in the spring.”
The Pearson Park archway is 150 years old.
The gateway was initially removed in 50 pieces from Pearson Avenue during November and December 2018. It was transported to restoration specialists Lost Art’s workshop where the extent of corrosion that the structure had suffered was assessed and repair work took place.
Repairs ranged from infilling simple hairline cracks to more complex work including the recreation of some of the detailing lost over the years and rebuilt using original drawings and historical photographs.
