THESE historic golden gates, which once belonged to the French royal family, are set to be returned to a historic house in Worcestershire.

The ornate metal structures have been in the care of a local blacksmith for the last nine years but are now just a matter of months away from being returned to their home at the entry of Wood Norton Hotel on the outskirts of Evesham.

Believed to originate from Versailles, the French kings’ Paris palace, the gates were severely damaged in August 2003 when a wedding guest staying at the hotel crashed through them in a car.

But Pershore blacksmith Steve Cooper has been meticulously working on the gates on and off over the years to restore them to their former royal glory.

Mr Cooper said there were many reasons for the delay in the return of the gates, including cashflow problems and time spent doing his farrier apprenticeship.

He said: “It is also quite an undertaking to hang the gates as they weigh two and a half tonnes each. But by next summer they will be back in all their glory.”

The gates, which have been gilded with 24-carat gold, are thought to have first appeared at the site when Duc d’Orleans Prince Philippe, the exiled heir to the French throne, moved there.

“The overthrow [the section above the gates], which is still to be finished, has the Duc d’Orleans coat of arms adorned in it,” he said.

“It is the most ornate part of what is left on the site as a lot of the detail has gone.”