The Pytchley Gates are a Grade II listed monument. They are a very fine example of a decorative classical gateway which originally stood at the entrance to Pytchley Hall before being moved to become part of the formal entrance to Overstone Hall. The large central carriage arch dates back to the late 16th or early 17th century. The two flanking stone pedestrian arches and all four, highly ornate iron gates were added when the gateway was moved to its present location in 1843. The front central arch is flanked by two Roman Doric columns supporting an entablature.
In April 2007 a vehicle veered off the road and severely damaged the gates. The lower north side of the main arch and column were demolished, including parts of the surround to the north pedestrian gate and one of the two main cast iron gates. The other gate was badly damaged and significant structural movement was noted elsewhere on the monument. The main arch and capping above had a slight twist and was leaning towards the west by about 25mm. A support scaffolding was immediately erected to ensure the safety of the public, this also allowed for close inspection of the damage.
The project to repair the Garade II listed gateway took eighteen weeks to complete. The original stone was thought to be Weldon which is no longer available, but Boden and Ward had some blocks of Weldon that were a good match to the existing.
Each stone was taken down, photographed and individually logged. They were cleaned off and set aside for re-use. The stones that couldn't be reused were replaced. The Gateway was rebuilt to its original state with 3mm joints. The centering was fixed to an independent structural frame within the scaffolding. This enabled us to form the main arch to the gateway. We used a 3 to 1 mix with plastering sand and hydraulic lime. Once it was all rebuilt we gave the south pedestrian gate a light nebulous clean because it was particularly discoloured with pollution. The remaining part of the gates were finished with a light brush down and a water clean to the top section to remove old salts and dirt. The repaired iron gates were installed and a "topping out ceremony" held to celebrate the Pytchley Gates being restored to their former glory.
Judges comments " This is a pure restoration project built in a traditional manner without any modern interventions. The project was to rebuild the gates re-using as much of the original stone as possible. This achieved a pleasing result, with what new stone was needed carefully handled in all aspects so that it is difficult to indentify. It is a pleasing and successful reconstruction carried out sympathetically. It has obliterated the history of the car crash".