Gates

NPL gates

Erection date: 1925

Inscription

{Incorporated into the decorative iron-work:}
NPL

A nearby information board provides: "Following site redevelopment these splendid gates, from the original National Physical Laboratory (NPL) entrance off Queens Road, were refurbished and moved to their current location as an ornamental feature and to preserve them for posterity.

The gates were first erected at Queens Road in 1925 after completion of the new roads Rayleigh Avenue and Kelvin Avenue within NPL.  The 'new' entrance to NPL was formally opened on 23 June 1925 by the President of the Royal Society, Sir Charles Sherrington, OM on the occasion of the annual visit of the General Board.  Lord Rayleigh also took part in the ceremony and spoke of his father's long connection with NPL as Chairman of the Executive Committee for twenty years.  Many other luminaries were present, including Sir Lionel Earle (Permanent Secretary of His Majesty's Office of Works), Sir H. Frank Heath (Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research), Sir William McCormick (Chairman of the NPL Advisory Council), Sir Arthur Schuster (Chairman of the NPL Executive Committee), Sir Richard Glazebrook (first Director of NPL), and Sir Joseph Petavel (NPL Director at the time) and the ceremony attracted a sizable crowd of local residents. 

The gates were refurbished in 2008 by Welding Mobility in West Drayton."  

The board also provides two photos of the gates in their original location, which we have used on this page (NPL Open Day in 1948 showing visitors entering through the Queens Road gates) and on the National Physical Laboratory page.

We would have preferred a shorter list of bigwigs at the original installation and more information, such as:  where exactly were the gates before they got moved here?  And were they erected as a WW1 memorial?   Using the photos we believe we have the answer to the first question: on the south west of Queens Road at the junction with Bullard Road.  Gates were sometimes used as war memorials, e.g. at Highgate School and 1925 is certainly the right time.

Site: National Physical Laboratory (3 memorials)

TW11, Hampton Road

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
NPL gates

Subjects commemorated i

National Physical Laboratory

The NPL's history page concentrates on their work (e.g. they weighed Concorde...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
NPL gates

Also at this site i

National Physical Laboratory stone war memorial

National Physical Laboratory stone war memorial

The National Archive BIS War Memorials has research about all the names on th...

Read More

NPL - Golden Jubilee

NPL - Golden Jubilee

NPL National Phusical Laboratory Liriodendron Tulipifera Tulip tree This tree...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

George Inn - gate

George Inn - gate

SE1, Borough High Street, 77, George Inn Yard

Records of this coaching inn date back to 1542 although the current building dates back to 1676 when it was rebuilt following a devastati...

3 subjects commemorated
HGS residents killed in WW2 - gate

HGS residents killed in WW2 - gate

NW11, Temple Fortune Hill/Big Wood

From HGS Heritiage: "On 28th April 2001, a group of Suburb residents led by the Reverend Tony Spring formerly {sic}  opened a new Memoria...

3 subjects commemorated
Holly Village

Holly Village

N6, Swains Lane

This charming Victorian gothic development of 12 Grade 2 listed homes, completed in 1865 was at the southern extremity of the Holly Lodge...

1 subject commemorated
Hobbs Gates

Hobbs Gates

SE11, Kennington Oval, Hobbs Gates

See Alpha Rail for a close-up photo of these lovely Art Deco gates during their restoration in 2013. "Significant changes were being made...

1 subject commemorated
J. Dawbarn Young

J. Dawbarn Young

N6, Swains Lane, 107

The two plaques are inside the porch facing each other. The one to J. Dawbarn Young himself, facing north, seems better protected from t...

War dead | WW1
2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

Bessborough Gardens - Thomas Cubitt

Bessborough Gardens - Thomas Cubitt

SW1, Bessborough Gardens, 1

The plaques are in the porch behind the pillars that you can see in our photo, Cubitt on the left, Prince of Wales on the right. The (20...

1 subject commemorated
David Bowie mural - Bromley

David Bowie mural - Bromley

BR1, Bromley High Street, Glades Shopping Centre

The mural's location makes it seem as if they don't want people to see it. It is at the most remote part of the shopping centre's ground ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Mark Slavin

Mark Slavin

Wrestler. Born in Minsk, Belarus SSR. Winner of the Soviet Greco-Roman wrestling middleweight junior championship in 1971. He moved to Israel to join their Olympic team. Murdered by Palestinian ter...

Person, Sport / Games, Tragedy, Germany, Israel/Palestine

1 memorial
Grapes Tavern

Grapes Tavern

First mentioned in 1842. It occupies the site of the former Christopher Inn. On its northern side it still retains the red brick fronts of several 18th century houses. It has since returned to its ...

Building, Community / Clubs, Food & Drink

1 memorial