London – Central London – Salters’ Hall Gates

These gates are near to Fore Street, situated a few metres away from the Minotaur sculpture, but these have just a little more relevance to their surroundings. They are the gates purchased in 1887 by Salters’ Hall for their building then located off St. Swithin’s Lane. The gates weren’t specifically created for them, they had been displayed at the International Exhibition and were commissioned by Prince Albert (1819-1861) and designed by John Thomas (1813-1862) at the beginning of the 1860s, but they then both died and so it’s fair to say the project lost its shine a little. There were a few little amendments for the new owners, such as the addition of the Salters’ crest, but then they were good to go. And I’m sure that everyone was pleased with the gates until the 1941 Blitz saw Salters’ Hall destroyed. On the bright side, they still had the gates. In 1949, they were moved to Salters’ Almhouses in Watford and in 2017 they were moved to their current location, near to the new Salters’ Hall.

The original location of the gates at the old Salters’ Hall (clicking on the map makes it larger).