Knebworth Water Tower Gates

Designing the gates for Knebworth was a two-year project that involved the local planning authority, heritage and conservation specialists. The brief was to create replica gates to fit into the water tower archway at rear of the courtyard.

The house had security problems with this archway entrance and needed to be able to close the area, particularly during private events and filming. The new gates also had to match the original Knebworth House gates seen at the far side of the courtyard.

The original gates have distinctive spiral uprights and an unusual leave pattern motif.  The square verticals are turned on edge and all horizontal bars widen at this point.

Using moulds taken from the originals, the castings were modelled again specially for the project. Inverted urns at the gates' top corners were lathe turned from solid steel. Because of the immense weight of each gate, a recessed track and lathe-turned wheel carries the load.

Customer Testimonial

"The gates are working very well, they look amazing and are perfect. We are really very pleased with the result."

Martha Lytton Cobbold
Managing Director
Lytton Enterprises Ltd
Knebworth Park
Visit: www.knebworthhouse.com

The result? The gates appear to have been in place for decades. The courtyard has become a private place and a secure barrier has been created, protecting the house from unwanted intrusion and reducing the opportunity of theft.