Tony Gillan delves into the possibly not-so-mysterious, but still historic, Tolkienesque little door in the depths of Sunderland's Mowbray Park
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00:00 There can be few way-siders who have failed at some point to notice the enchanting doorway,
00:08 a medieval arch surrounding the wooden door set in a cliff-face in deepest Morbray Park.
00:14 It certainly has an appropriately Alice's Adventures in Wonderland look to it, and generations
00:18 of children, having asked their parents the purpose of the doorway, have delighted in
00:22 being fobbed off. Pure wind about goblins, fairies, elves, pixies, that lot. Not that
00:29 adults asking the same question are likely to receive any information that is any more
00:32 reliable. Whenever I've asked I've always been presented with blind guesses or outright
00:37 flippancy. The beautiful lion's head door knocker, notwithstanding, it won't take you
00:42 to Narnia. It also turns out that the council's parking meter committee doesn't have clandestine
00:47 meetings or acid house parties in there after all. Nor does it contain Nazi gold bullion.
00:53 It isn't even part of a secret network of tunnels which merge into a neolithic portal
00:57 in the Pennywell Comrades Club. It isn't a casino. It isn't... you get the picture.
01:02 There is literally an endless list of things that are not behind the door but the truth
01:07 of the matter turns out to be... well say what you think. Both the door and its knocker
01:12 were commissioned to artists Craig Knowles and Carl Fisher in the late 1990s. However,
01:17 there is a genuine historic value to the stone archway, which is medieval and was originally
01:23 the entrance to the rectory of St Michael and All Angels Church, now Sutherland Minster.
01:28 The rectory was roughly where the Empire Theatre is now. It was demolished not long before
01:33 Moorbrake Park was officially opened by John Candlish, the glass magnate, in 1857. The
01:39 arch was preserved and moved to the park. If it looks a bit on the short side these
01:43 days it's because much of it is buried. Among the notables to have passed through the Grade
01:47 II listed archway at its previous location was the Rector of Bishopley Mouth 1827-1848
01:54 Gerald Wellesley, younger brother of the Duke of Wellington, although he only turned up
01:58 occasionally. Another Rector between 1796 and his death in 1805 was William Pearley.
02:05 He is best remembered for his 1802 book Natural Theology or Evidence of the Existence and
02:10 Attributes of the Deity. Apart from having a title which is the very antithesis of Snappy,
02:17 the book is notable as a rebuttal to evolution, even though it was published seven years before
02:22 Charles Darwin was born. Like the legendary Spotty's Cave in Roker Park, there was a cave
02:27 behind the door. The mystique of Spotty's is diminished somewhat these days as the council
02:32 uses it to store distinctly unmagical items such as wheelie bins and plastic road barriers.
02:38 The Moorbrake Park doorway can't even match that for a lure. According to official information,
02:43 there is a cave behind the doorway where the park keeper used to store tools and supplies
02:47 in years gone by. This cave has now been blocked up for safety reasons. So, not only is the
02:52 door unlikely to be opened again any time soon, it would only lead to a parkies cupboard
02:56 and a disused one at that. Oh well, it's a lovely ornamental place and there is history
03:02 behind it and if the little ones ask, it's occupied by goblins, fairies, elves, pixies,
03:07 that lot.
03:08 [no audio]