Hull park may mark its 100 years with gates restoration

The wrought iron gates – which were considered so special that they survived the Second World War intact – are in danger of falling apart.

Now the Friends of Pickering Park are awaiting the outcome of funding bids for £146,000 which will allow the gates to once again be opened, hopefully some time this year.

Secretary Pat Tharratt said: “The gates are not going to last much longer. They have been looked at by experts and they have said unless repairs begin within the next year we could lose them, it’s as serious as that.

“Bits have fallen off and the corrosion is getting very bad. We started on the gates in 2008, so the project is in hand. We are just waiting to hear whether we have got the funds and we hope the work will start this year.”

The work will see the main gates being removed so they can be refurbished and missing parts replaced from recycled iron.

To mark the day of the park’s centenary on Wednesday July 13 there will be an evening service in St Nicholas Church, followed by a weekend of entertainment on July 16 and 17.

There will be a Victorian fair on the Saturday and Sunday with the original carousel, as well as a modern fair.

Although the Victorians would probably bemoan the loss of features including a Chinese pagoda and wooden bridge and hexagonal wooden pavilion, it still has football pitches, an aviary and a “glorious” fishing lake with several islands for wildfowl.