Donation launches maternity home gates restoration

Plans to restore a set of historic gates that had been the entrance to a 20th Century maternity home have been submitted by the University of Oxford.

Only a small part of the Walton Street gates, which once formed the entrance to the Radcliffe Infirmary Maternity Home, still remain following the site's closure in 1972.

The infirmary building, which was opened in the 1930s by the future Queen Mother, is now part of the University of Oxford's Radcliffe Observatory Quarter.

Thanks to a donation from Guy Francis, whose stepfather was a pioneering professor at the infirmary, plans have now been submitted for the restoration of the gates that once adorned its entrance.

It marks the next step in a long-running campaign led by the Friends of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter group.

Group chair Ian Baxter said: "We are delighted that this long-held ambition is moving forward."

He said the gates had been "an important reminder of the site's history" and their restoration would "help enhance the character" of the surrounding area.

Benefactor Francis's stepfather Sir Robert Macintosh was the first Nuffield Professor of Anaesthetics at the University of Oxford and Radcliffe Infirmary between 1937 and 1965.

Once completed, the new gates will be known as the Macintosh Gates in his honour, with a plaque next to the entrance commemorating his work.

The project is being led by the University of Oxford.

Paul Rhymes, the university's head of heritage and building maintenance, said he was "looking forward to hearing the stories, memories and reflections" that the restoration project "inspires".

"The Maternity Gates are far more than just a historic feature; they are a symbolic entranceway to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, reflecting its former use and rich medical history," he said.

"Revealing the gates and bringing them back to life will make a significant contribution to the site but also to the wider streetscape of Jericho."