A PAIR of ‘Elephant Doors’ have been returned down the trunk road to Petersfield after a painstaking restoration.

The teak gates from India open into the courtyard behind the Red Lion Wetherspoons pub on College Street.

According to a metal plate on the gates they are elephant doors, and it’s thought they originated from one of six ancient hill forts in Rajasthan state.

The forts in northern India are a designated United Nations World Heritage Site. Most are in the Aravalli Range of mountains and were built and enhanced from the fifth to the 18th century by Rajput kings.

The imposing doors from the fort near the north Indian city of Jaipur could be up to 400 years old, but no one really knows how they got from India to East Hampshire.

The doors – so-called because they are reportedly big enough for an elephant to pass through – were removed during the autumn for repairs after becoming unstable.

They have since been refurbished and re-hung on new brackets with the restoration costing around £3,500, according to Wetherspoons.

An accompanying notice reads: “These beautiful doors known as Elephant Doors originate from an old fort in Rajasthan, India. A doorway for animals sounds a little strange, but not totally different from the entrance here at The Red Lion when the gateway would have been used by coach and horses.”