The Grace Gates were designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker as a tribute to English cricketer W. G. Grace, who had died in 1915. They replaced an earlier, less decorative, entrance to the ground. Baker also designed the old Lord's Grandstand, which was demolished in 1996. The gates are made of cast iron and bear motifs of a cricket ball and the sun's rays, and the initials of the Marylebone Cricket Club. They are set within the south exterior wall of Lord's on St John's Wood Road, within a curved recess of Portland stone, which also contains a door to either side for pedestrian access. The two pairs of gates are separated from each other by a pillar made of Portland stone, topped by a stone carving of three stumps and urn, with a further pillar to either side, also topped by a stone urn. On the centre pillar is a carved wreath with the initials WGG, and the engraved inscription TO THE MEMORY OF WILLIAM GILBERT GRACE THE GREAT CRICKETER: 1848–1915: THESE GATES WERE ERECTED: THE MCC AND OTHER FRIENDS AND ADMIRERS. The inscription was a matter of some debate, with various suggestions made in English, Latin and Greek. Sir Stanley Jackson suggested including "The Great Cricketer" in the design.
History
The Grace Gates were officially opened by Sir Stanley Jackson at a ceremony in 1923. They are located close to the west end of the Tavern Stand, and are the main entrance to Lord's for MCC members, who often queue outside the gates hours before Lord's opens on the day of a Test match to get a good seat in the Lord's Pavilion. The "Toffs and Toughs" photograph, of two boys in Harrow School uniform and three others in the plain clothes of pre-war working class youths, was taken outside the Grace Gates in July 1937. A protest was held outside the Grace Gates in 1970, opposing the 1969–70 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland because of South Africa'sapartheid policies. The Grace Gates were listed in 1996. In 2006, there was discussion in the MCC about possibly removing the Grace Gates to another part of Lord's. This was discussed after consideration of the MCC's planned redevelopment of Lord's with the Grosvenor Group and because the gates were being constantly damaged by supply lorries turning in the vicinity of the gates. However the MCC members voted against moving the gates. In 2013, as part of a revised redevelopment of Lord's, it was announced that a new entrance would be built into Lord's to supersede the Grace Gates as the entrance for MCC members. The gates themselves would be locked for three years while the pavilion end is redeveloped.
