OVER the past few weeks we have been reporting on the work due to start on the Golden Gates.

The landmark at Bank Park is one of the most iconic in Warrington.

And over the coming months, £500,000 of repair work will take place.

READ MORE > Watch as work starts to remove the Golden Gates

But how did they end up in Warrington?

In 1895, the Warrington Guardian reported on a handsome new addition to Bank Park.

Friday, June 28, will long remain a red-letter day in the history of Warrington, as it witnessed the opening of the large and handsome gates which were presented to the town by Mr Frederick Monks.

The Golden Gates have stood proudly outside Warrington Town Hall for more than a century but they were originally meant for an even more prestigious destination.

Warrington Guardian: Aerial view of Sandringham Estate in Norfolk

The gates were meant for Sandringham estate

The gates, which are actually made of cast-iron, were commissioned by one of the livery companies of London as a present for Queen Victoria and were to be installed at Sandringham.

In 1862, the Queen went to Rotten Row, Hyde Park in London to inspect the gift, but she was in for a shock.

Behind the gates stood a statue of Oliver Cromwell, which so displeased the Queen she refused to accept the gift; but Sandringham’s loss was Warrington’s gain.

The gates were returned to the makers, the Coalbrookdale Company in Ironbridge.

Warrington Guardian: Iconic attraction at Ironbridge.

The gates were brought to Warrington from Ironbridge

In 1893, Frederick Monks, a member of Warrington Council, was visiting Ironbridge in his capacity as a director of Monks Hall Foundry and saw the gates. He was so taken with them he bought them as a gift for the council and they were installed in pride of place in Bank Park two years later.

And he took the Cromwell statue for good measure too.

Warrington Guardian:

The Oliver Cromwell statue

It stands outside the Academy building in the town centre.