Gatepost

A gatepost is a structure used to support gates or crossbars which control entry to an area, such as a field or driveway.

A gatepost is a structure used to support gates or crossbars which control entry to an area, such as a field or driveway. ===Ornate gateposts=== in St Petersburg.]] Many houses have driveways of varying lengths and gateposts are a way of making a social statement of status, through the cost implications of an ornate or 'awe inspiring' entrance way. Some entrances had two or even three gates attached to the gateposts, such as at Robertland House in East Ayrshire, Scotland, the side gates being for the use of pedestrians. The gates themselves could be wood or more commonly cast iron, wrought iron or mild steel. A large number of the cast-iron gates were removed by the Ministry of Works in World War II to be melted down and used to build weapons, etc. Once removed these gates were rarely replaced. A sign of very high status was to have sufficient wealth to have gatehouses or lodges near the gates. Some estates had several lodges and the owners would at one time have employed people to live in these buildings and their jobs would be to open and close the gates, thereby controlling the movements of livestock and also of visitors, some of whom would be denied access or directed way from the front door to the tradesman's entrance. The date of construction can often be deduced from the style, many being Victorian, due to the wealth creation of the period and the number of large dwellings consequently constructed. Large balls, looking like finials are sometimes precariously perched on top of gateposts, as at Woodway House in Teignmouth, South Devon. ===Estate gateposts=== Country estates, usually having one owner, tend to show a degree of uniformity in the design of gateposts, which were mostly purchased at the same time. Different estates can sometimes be 'mapped' by the gateposts used, various designs being supplied for the different landowners to choose from. It may be that the same suppliers also made milestones for the turnpike trusts as the two are sometimes of very similar appearance. Many gateposts have been removed to allow for the access of larger modern farm machinery, sometimes only one has been moved and the other left in situ. ===Examples of gatehouses=== File:Dunlopgatehouse.jpg|Dunlop House, Dunlop, East Ayrshire with its entrance lodge and gateposts. File:Thorntounlodge.JPG|The West Lodge gateposts at Thorntoun, Springside, North Ayrshire. File:Giffingatehouse.JPG| File:Stanecastle gate at Eglinton.jpg| File:Kennoxgates2007.JPG| File:Millburn lodge eglinton.JPG| Encyclopædia Britannica article on metalwork A Researcher's Guide to Local History terminology

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