Burslem Fountain

Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England

James Maddock J.P. was a businessman and a philanthropist who made donations to the Wedgewood Institute and the Haywood Hospital. He also held the position of Mayor of Burslem for two years. He donated the drinking fountain to the town in 1881. It is located at the centre of St. John’s Square.

This cast iron fountain cast by the Coalbrookdale Iron Company rests on a three tiered square plinth of kerridge stone, the base of which is put together with bricks and blue lias (blue lias consists of a sequence oflimestoneandshalelayers). The height of the structure is 14 ft. 6 ins. and originally had a copper bronze appearance.

The square base with chamfered corners offers two basins on opposite sides. The second tier of the fountain is an encased dome surrounded by arches and short pedestals with floral decoration. Four Corinthian columns with attic base rise from the pedestals to support an abacus from which a central fluted column rises. Two dolphins are intertwined at the base of the column which has a lamp terminal. The original gas lamp was a globe with gilt bands.

Today, lunettes between each column contain alternating lion masks with rings and elephant masks from which water pours into the basins. However, the original design did not have elephant masks and contained four lion heads. Water flowing from the basins descended to a small trough below for the use of dogs. The central terminal is a reeded vase with handles in the form of intertwined snakes. Originally the vase was interlaced with gold foliage and the snake handles were also gilt.

Symbolism was popular in Victorian times. Lions are acknowledged as guardians, elephants are a symbol of peace, snakes are potent guardians of sacred spaces, and dolphins are guardians of all things water related.

According to a Staffordshire Times newspaper article dated August 27, 1881, an underground passage was created beneath the fountain to permit repair to pipes without the need to dismantle the fountain.

“The MAYOR then stepped forward, and addressing the crowd he said he had looked forward to that day with very great pleasure, that he might hand over to the town what he promised to do in November. For a long time he had had a wish to do something for his town – the town in which his father worked so many years, and with such great success, and with which his (the Mayor’s) interests were so closely identified. He had also worked to do some good for his fellow-townsmen. There had been many good examples set them by benefactors to the town in various ways by natives and residents, and when he considered the form his gift had taken, he thought he could not do better than present the town with a drinking fountain. He hoped it would be acceptable, and an advantage to the people of Burslem, and that they would find a service in years to come.” Staffordshire Times August 27, 1881.

In August 1984 the fountain was abandoned in the corner of a factory yard near the top of Newcastle Street. It remained there for many years until it was restored and erected once more at Fountain Place in 1990. An inscription on the edge of the plinth states, On 25th April 1990 Francis Fitzherbert. The Lord Stafford, formally marked the restoration to the site of the Burslem drinking fountain by the Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the Burslem Preservation Society in conjunction with Stephen Bambury of Co-Bam Ltd. The original fountain was presented by James Maddock.A local pottery manufacturer when he was Mayor of Burslem in 1881 & 1883.

Glossary

• Abacus, at the top of a capital, a thick rectangular slab of stone that serves as the flat, broad surface
• Attic base, a column base with two rings
• Corinthian columns, a fluted shaft with flowers and leaves at the capital
• Lunette, the half-moon shaped space framed by an arch, often containing a window or painting
• Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.
• Terminal, statue or ornament that stands on a pedestal

In gratitude
Many thanks to Mervyn Edwards (Committee, Burslem History Club) for his assistance at the Newspaper Archives.

Burslem Fountain 1893 image. Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain 1905 postcard. Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain 1905 postcard. Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain 1984 sketch. Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain St. John Square. Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Source: beautifulengland.net

Burslem Fountain Fountain Place. Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Creative Commons License, David Stowell. Source: geograph.org.uk

Burslem Fountain Source: midlandsheritage.co.uk

Burslem Fountain Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Source: midlandsheritage.co.uk

Burslem Fountain Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Burslem Fountain Inscription on plinth. Used with permission. Source: thepotteries.org

Image Sources

http://www.thepotteries.org/art/9.htm

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/272798

http://www.midlandsheritage.co.uk/miscellaneous-heritage/2831-drinking-fountain-burslem.html

http://www.beautifulengland.net/photos/index.php/staffordshire/stoke-on-trent/corneroffountainplaceandstjohnssquareburslemstokeontrent

 

Lyle Drinking Fountain

Location: Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland

In the early part of the 19^th century, the Lyle family was occupied in the commerce of coopering (barrel making) and shipping; they owned fishing smacks (English sailing vessels used to bring fish to market.) Abram Lyle inherited the business from his father, and with the assistance of several partners he bought a sugar refinery in Greenock in 1865. He also created a shipping line named the Cape Line. When he was denied anchorage in Greenock Harbour to transport sugar from the West Indies, he relocated his business to England in 1882. Henry Tate operated a sugar refinery in England, and many years later in 1921 Abram Lyle’s grandson merged with Henry Tate & Sons to become Tate & Lyle, world famous for sugar and syrup.

In addition to being a businessman, Abram was the Town Provost of Greenock from 1876-1879. Abram donated a drinking fountain to the town which was erected in Cathcart Square in 1880 .

The structure is seated on a three level octagonal plinth. Six Corinthian columns with attic base support a highly decorated open filigree dome. The capital of each column, studded with alternating circles and diamond shapes, extends beyond the capital and ends with a corona finial. At the top of the dome a spire emerges from plant foliage with open filigree crowns and a small orb at the apex.

Crests of 18 prominent families of Greenock, some of which are Ardgowan, Cartsburn, Fairlie, Stewart, Morton, Steele, Watt, and Wood, are visible along the frieze and the central point of each arch.

The font standing on a circular plinth displays an inscription, This Fountain Given To The Inhabitants of Greenock By Abram Lyle Provost 1879. A central pedestal supports a two tiered basin structure, the larger basin being on the bottom, and a smaller basin in which stands a terminal of two fish. Relevance of the fish is probably related to the Lyle family being involved in the commerce of fishing.

There is no evidence of the manufacturer of the drinking fountain. However, there are several castings similar to the Lion Foundry, (and the cast iron coronas on the red sandstone buildings of Sandringham Terrace are also a Lion Foundry design), leads me to believe that the fountain designed by Mr. F.A. Scudamore of Coventry was probably cast by the Lion Foundry of Kirkintilloch.

Image notes

• In the postcard image, the column terminals appear to contain gas lamp globes.
• In the 1966 image the original fountain has been replaced by a bubbler (a tap that releases a jet of water), and  a single pedestal with a small white basin. Suspended from the column terminals there would appear to be canisters for lights.
• In the 1977 image the original font design has been resurrected. The family crests are not in position.

Glossary

• Attic base, a column base with two rings
• Bubbler, a fountain with a tap
• Capital, the top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Corinthian Column, a fluted shaft with flowers and leaves at the capital.
• Corona, a crown
• Filigree, fine ornamental work
• Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
• Frieze, the horizontal part of a classical entablature just below the cornice, often decorated with carvings
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.
• Terminal, statue or ornament that stands on a pedestal

 

Lyle Drinking Fountain 1910 postcard. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/98346459@N00/2767151157/

Lyle Drinking Fountain 1966 image. Source: http://mcleanmuseum.pastperfect-online.com/36003cgi/mweb.exe?request=record&id=E8FC0005-573F-42C6-9E04-021602587146&type=102

Lyle Drinking Fountain 1977

Lyle Drinking Fountain 1990

Lyle Drinking Fountain Creative Commons License, Thomas Nugent. Source: geograph.org.uk

Lyle Drinking Fountain Used with permission, WesternSMT. Source: Flickr

Lyle Drinking Fountain Creative Commons License, Thomas Nugent. Source: wikimedia.org

Lyle Drinking Fountain Creative Commons License, Thomas Nugent. Source: geograph.org.uk

Lyle Drinking Fountain

Used with Permission. Source:http://www.shopinverclyde.com/pic56.html

Lyle Drinking Fountain

Lyle Drinking Fountain Source: Blipfoto. Photographer, Stuart Roberts

Lyle Drinking Fountain Used with permission, Eddie Montgomery. Source: inverclyde.gov.uk

Lyle Drinking Fountain Used with permission, Eddie Montgomery. Source: inverclyde.gov.uk

Lyle Drinking Fountain Used with permission, Eddie Montgomery. Source: inverclyde.gov.uk

 

Railway Square Fountain

Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

In 1870 the Mayor of Sydney selected a design of a cast-iron canopied drinking fountain from an illustrated catalogue of Walter Macfarlane & Co., Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Scotland. The fountain located at Railway Square near the tram shelters was customized to incorporate the City’s coat of arms. Unfortunately, it no longer exists.

In 1914 Lord Mayor Alderman Richards stated that ‘in many cases persons would prefer drinking at a fountain to slaking their thirst at a bar, and more fountains would at least be a small set-off to the dangerous temptations of the public-house.’

Drinking fountain number 8 was 9 feet 6 inches high and consisted of four columns, from the capitals of which consoles with griffin terminals united with arches formed of decorated mouldings.

Rope moulded cartouches within each lunette hosted the image of a crane, and an open bible displayed a verse from St. John’s Gospel chapter 4 verse 14, ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.’ On two of the sides provision was made for receiving an inscription using raised metal letters; whilst on the other two sides was the useful monition, Keep The Pavement Dry. Civic virtues such as temperance were often extolled in inscriptions on drinking fountains. The structure was surmounted by an open filigree dome, the finial being a crown with a pattée cross.

Under the canopy stood the original font (design number 7) 5 feet 8 inches high. The basin which had a scalloped edge and decorative relief was supported by a single decorative pedestal with four pilasters and four descending salamanders, a symbol of courage and bravery. A central urn with four consoles offered drinking cups suspended by chains. The terminal was a crane.

Initially, an iron tap regulated the flow of water and was retrieved with pewter drinking cups. In the interest of hygiene circa 1916, the cups were removed and the font was replaced with a bubbler so named because it produced a flow of bubbling water. The bubblers were produced by John Danks & Co.

Symbolism was popular in Victorian times. Griffins are symbolic of guardians of priceless possessions, salamanders display bravery and courage that cannot be extinguished by fire, and cranes are recognized as a symbol of vigilance.

Railway Square Fountain Circa 1934 Used with permission, City of Sydney Archives

Railway Square Fountain Circa 1954 Used with permission, City of Sydney Archives

Railway Square Fountain Source: http://tdu.to/197288.msg

Glossary

• Capital: The top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Cartouche, a structure or figure, often in the shape of an oval shield or oblong scroll, used as an architectural or graphic ornament or to bear a design or inscription
• Console: a decorative bracket support element
• Filigree, fine ornamental work
• Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
• Fret, running or repeated ornament
• Griffin, winged lion denotes vigilance and strength, guards treasure and priceless possessions
• Lunette, the half-moon shaped space framed by an arch, often containing a window or painting
• Pattée cross, a cross with arms that narrow at the centre and flare out at the perimeter
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Pilaster, a column form that is only ornamental and not supporting a structure
• Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests
• Terminal, statue or ornament that stands on a pedestal

Queen Victoria Fountain

Location: Bristol, England

The fountain set into the exterior wall of Market House on St. Nicholas Street, Bristol, was installed to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 40^th birthday in 1859. It was donated by Mr. Budgett, a wealthy Bristol grocery merchant.

The fountain was cast by Coalbrookdale Company of Shropshire (casting #106) from a design by William and Thomas Wills of Suffolk. The brothers were noted sculptors in the mid 19^th century and best known for their designs of drinking fountains.

The cast iron frame is in the form of a stylized shield with curved edges. The top part of the shield forms a lunette displaying the crowned head of Queen Victoria; beneath is a recessed arch which contains the drinking well. On either side of the well are cherubs holding daffodils on high whilst standing on acanthus foliage. An inscription is visible on the arch: Wills Brothers Sculpt London. A shell situated in the interior of the arch dispersed water into the basin below.

Listed a Grade II building in 1977 the painted structure was refreshed regularly by Mr. John Hewett of Whitehall in Bristol. The iron back plate and basin were damaged in 1982, and the basin was rebuilt in a concrete/resin mixture.

The fountain was restored at the behest of Bristol City Council and undertaken by Dorothea Restorations. Damage to the fountain was repaired, new cast iron pieces were fitted, and the structure was cleaned.  The original paint had deteriorated over time and after consultation with the City it was repainted in an acceptable colour palette.

Glossary

• Acanthus, one of the most common plant forms (deeply cut leaves) to make foliage ornament and decoration
• Lunette, the half-moon shaped space framed by an arch, often containing a window or painting

Queen Victoria Fountain Prior to restoration. Creative Commons License. Source: British Listed Buildings

Queen Victoria Fountain Used with permission. Source: Facebook/the DrawingRoom

Queen Victoria Fountain After restoration

Queen Victoria Fountain After restoration. Used with permission, John Wallis. Source: Dorothea Restorations

Image Sources

http://www.dorothearestorations.com/case-studies/st-nicholas-fountain–bristol

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-380491-drinking-fountain-

https://www.facebook.com/TheDrawingRoomDesign