Wembley gates sold at auction for over £5,000

The Royal Tunnel Gates, which feature in pictures from the last time London hosted the Olympics in 1948, were one of nine lots from the stadium which went under the hammer.

The timber gates, which measure approximately 16ft by 16ft (5m x 5m) and date from 1923, marked the entrance through which teams were driven to compete.

Each gate weighs several tonnes and were too heavy to go on show in the saleroom.

Other items in the auction included a door panel from the stadium’s royal retiring room, which sold for £2,350, and a window from the same room, which fetched £1,175. All of the prices included buyer’s premium.

The gates are being sold by architectural charity The Brooking Trust, which bought them from the stadium before its demolition.

A spokesman for the trust said: “Regrettably it is the size and weight which negates their retention in the collection.

“It is with sadness that they and the other pieces are being released. We have held them for the last 11 years hoping to find a way of displaying them, but without success.”

The money will help preserve other items in the collection.

Auctioneers Graham Budd held the sale at Sotheby’s on New Bond Street, London.