Re-dedicating the memorial gates at the Parish Church

The gates from Steeple Row that open onto the churchyard of what is now All Saints with Holy Trinity church always seem to be open, and so it is that when walking past, or walking through, one probably pays them no attention at all. However, these are no ordinary gates! The area around was much altered between 1914 and 1924, and the gates were created and installed at the time as a memorial to a local family, with a dedication service taking place on Sunday 2nd November 1924.

The gates on Steeple Row, lead into the west end of the parish church of All Saints with Holy Trinity, and were created in 1924 by students of Loughborough College. They were commissioned and given to the church by John Edward Barker, and his siblings, as a memorial to their parents, Thomas and Eliza (nee Towers).

The clearance of substandard housing in the area of Steeple Row had finally been completed by 1924, and the length from Church Gate to Rectory Place became a tree-lined, and grassed boulevard. There had not previously been an entrance to the church on the west side, but part of the work involved creating a wall around the churchyard. The town council paid for half the church wall as part of the works to improve the area, while the church authorities provided the rest of the wall. It was decided to create an entrance into the churchyard, and the wrought iron gates offered by the Barker family were a perfect fit.

An article in the Loughborough Echo of 7 November 1924 described the dedication ceremony and the gates in detail.

The short service was held in the road, after which, Mr John Edward Barker, representing the Barker family, gave a key to Canon Briggs, the rector, with which he was able to unlock the gates. Canon Briggs then dedicated the gates in memory of Thomas and Eliza Barker, and their daughter Sophia Ann Onions, who had married Zachariah Onions in 1886. Thomas had died in 1922, but his death had been preceded by that of his wife, Eliza in 1902, while daughter Sophia Ann died the year after her father, in 1923.

The wrought iron gates themselves were described as handsome, had what were described as handgates – basically a pedestrian entrance - either side, and reached to a height of 17 feet, and being 25 feet wide. They weighed in at 4.5 tons, and the main frames had been electrically welded together to ensure the structure was stable. The top of the central gate was quite ornate and showed the coat of arms of the Soke of Peterborough, while each corner of the central gate showed shields monogrammed with the initials of those who were commemorated, as well as the vicar and churchwardens. At the time of dedication, the coats of arms of the Loughborough Grammar School and Loughborough College were not yet affixed to the upper panels. I believe these are still not in place?

While the gates commemorated the donors, they also served as permanent evidence of the skill of the craftmakers at the college. Indeed, there were quite a number of people from various of the college departments who had been involved in the making of the gates, including students in the pattern shop, drawing office, foundry, smithy, electrical welding shop and the machine shop.

On 3 November 2024, a short re-dedication service will be held at the start of the usual Sunday morning service on at 10.45 am at the parish church. The gates are still standing tall and proud, and still bear the makers’ marks, and the coats of arms, shields, and intertwined monograms of those commemorated or otherwise involved in their production.

Next time we shall have a look at the Barker family in more detail … in the meantime, here are some pictures of the gates, taken this year.

 

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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