As building works continue around the new stadium site, the removal and relocation of two more iconic parts of the current stadium have been necessary.
The white canopy above the entrance to the main West Stand reception, from which the recognisable blue ‘Welcome to White Hart Lane’ sign hangs, has been carefully dismantled to widen the access route for construction vehicles and machinery from the High Road onto the construction site.
The sign itself will remain on display and has been attached to the brick wall on the front of the building.
Due to the increased exposure of the main entrance as a result of the canopy’s removal, the historic copper Cockerel and Ball – a symbol of the Club’s history and identity – has been moved from the West Stand reception and will now be housed alongside the iconic Tottenham Hotspur Clock at the new Club offices at Lilywhite House.
The 9ft 6in sculpture dates back to November, 1909, when it was made and fixed to the mock-Tudor gable of the West Stand by William James Scott of Edmonton, who had played for us during our days as an amateur club.
After being brought down and cleaned during the renewal of the West Stand roof in 1934, additional floodlighting necessitated its removal during the summer of 1957, but it reappeared on top of the East Stand, in December, 1958. It was removed from there on April 28, 1989, during refurbishment of the east side of the ground and has since been on display in the East Stand executive area and latterly in the West Stand reception.
At one stage, the ball was said to contain coinage and items of interest from 1909 but, upon being opened, all that was found was one very soggy handbook for the 1909-10 season!
Two fibreglass replicas, which were cast from the original in 1989, currently sit atop the East and West Stand roofs at White Hart Lane.
As with the Tottenham Hotspur Clock, the Cockerel and Ball will be preserved at Lilywhite House.
(Spurs official)
