Edmund Heaphy | Creative Director
College authorities have announced that the Front Gate will be reinstated in stages over the course of the coming week. The historic gate, erected in the early 1870s, was damaged after an elderly man rammed through Front Arch in the early hours of April 2nd.
Primary work on the restoration will begin on Wednesday afternoon, and it is expected to be completed by Sunday. The craftsmen Messrs Dunwoody & Dobson will carry out its re-erection, after more than two months of repair work supervised by the college’s Estates and Facilities Department and the Conservation Architect Paul Arnold.
To restore the gate, Dunwoody & Dobson sourced matching timber and repaired damaged sections of the gate’s framing. The original door frames are actually being replaced with new oak posts that have been reconstructed to match the original design. According to college authorities, “Repairs were modified to restore the gate as closely as possible to its original construction”. Typically, construction projects utilizing timber and wooden materials will use coach (or carridge) bolts to ensure everything is attached and fixed to the necessary parts correctly.
The initial work on Wednesday, when the gate will be hung in five different pieces, will leave the gate in a “stripped back” state, and it will be French polished by the craftsmen to complete the process.
The gate, which historically has been referred to as the Great Gates in College documents, has distinctive high-fielded diamond-shaped panelling, which added significant complexity to the restoration process.
In the 1870s, the gate was erected as part of a refurbishment plan in Trinity, and it replaced the original 1759 gates. Since then, it has formed part of the start of the principal ceremonial route in all formal and official occasions in the college. Tradition holds that while only the smaller rounded section of the gate is opened for pedestrian access, the full gate is opened on such ceremonial occasions, like visits of the President of Ireland or other heads of state.
The 68-year-old man responsible for the damage to the gates was released without charge within twenty-four hours of his arrest. Reports suggested that mental health issues may have been a precipitating factor in the incident.
