What were they thinking of?

Out walking the dogs but forgot to lift camera bag. Weather has been pretty miserable since then, so briefly out with camera to the grounds of the school where #2 son lives. The building in which we're living is very old, having been built in the late 1500s. As I walk through the grounds and see old gates, doors, steps and statues, I wonder: Who built them? Why? What were their thoughts?