An historic door which forms an integral part of the Island’s aviation heritage is to be restored to its former glory.

The door at the entrance to Muswell Manor was the spot where the 'Founding Fathers’ of early flight stood to be photographed in May 1909.

It was the same year that the Wright and Short Brothers met and flew from nearby marshland marking the manor and the Island as the site of the first recorded flight in the country by a Briton.

The group included Oswald, Horace and Eustace Short, Wilbur and Orville Wright, J T C Moore-Brabazon, and the Hon C S Rolls, and the photograph has been dubbed by historians as “the most famous aviation picture ever”.

The door was since removed and replaced, and the porch and canopy also disappeared.

But to mark the centenary this year, owners of Muswell Manor Terry and Sharon Munns have decided to re-build the entire structure to look the same as it did 100 years ago.

Work has begun on the project and it is hoped to be completed by May when there will be a weekend of celebrations at Muswell Manor.

The total cost of the venture will not be known until the work is finished.

Mrs Munns said: “The door is going to be reinstated to look the same as it did in that early photograph to mark the centenary of aviation at Muswell Manor.

“The door is proof that the Wright and Short Brothers and all the early aviators met up in one place.”

Mrs Munns thinks the original door and porch were removed in the early 1950s.

It formed the entrance to the Aero Club where the early aviators met, and is now the entrance to the bar at Muswell Manor.

Planning permission to re-build the door was granted by the council around six weeks ago.

There will be a weekend of celebrations to mark the centenary at Muswell Manor on Saturday and Sunday, May 2, 3.

As part of the celebrations aviation enthusiasts will be able to have their picture taken in front of the door with life-sized cardboard cut outs of the original aviators.