Golden Jubilee Fountain

Location: Keppel & George Streets, Machattie Park, Bathurst, NSW

To commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, a drinking fountain was erected in November 1888 by the Women and Girls of Bathurst. It was located on Russell Street between the Kings Parade and the courthouse. Flags were suspended across the street in celebration, and the ceremony was attended by a large audience which was entertained by a band. Mrs. McHattie presented the gift of a fountain to Mayor Webb. Following the advent of the motor vehicle, it became an obstacle and was relocated to Machattie Park.

The 18 ft. drinking fountain was a customization of number 27 manufactured by Walter Macfarlane & Co. at the Saracen Foundry, Glasgow. The design was well suited for Street Crossings, Squares, Market Places, etc., as it afforded drinking accommodation for a large number of horses and drivers, and effectively lit a wide space, with the least possible obstruction to other traffic.

It provided a drinking trough for horses with a small basin for dogs at ground level. The trough was a circular cast iron basin supported on legs in the form of horses’ hooves. The central stanchion supported the structure which was seated on a circular plinth. A central fluted column was capped with a central lamp and four additional lamps on arm extensions. A shield on the post offered inscription. Four projecting tendrils suspended cups allowing humans to drink from the spouting water whilst horses drank from the large basin.

The structure was part of a Heritage study in 1990 and 1997, and was reviewed again in 2006. It was listed on the State Heritage Register in 2007 as a decorative and rare item of Victorian street furniture of historical, cultural and aesthetic significance.

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  Source: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/HeritageItemImage.aspx?ID=1080188#ad-image-0

  

  Used with permission. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pellethepoet/14957167775/

  

  Used with permission, Ian Sutton. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22616984@N07/3007434970/in/pool-drinkingfountains
• Glossary
  • Plinth, Flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.
  • Stanchion, an upright bar or post providing support
  • Terminal, statue or ornament that stands on a pedestal

Lisburn’s Wallace Fountains

Location: Lisburn, Co. Antrim, Ireland

Sir Richard Wallace was a wealthy English art collector, philanthropist and Member of Parliament for Lisburn, Northern Ireland from 1873 to 1885 before retiring in Paris, France. When the Franco Prussian war damaged many of the aqueducts in Paris there remained little access to clean water for many of the most needy Parisians. His solution to this problem was the erection of public drinking fountains.

The famous Caratyd drinking fountains were manufactured by the Val d’Osne Foundry from a work of art by the French sculptor, Charles-Auguste Lebourg, in 1872. A stamp is visible on the fountain: Ch. Lebourg SC 1872.

Sir Richard donated five fountains to his former parliamentary constituency at Lisburn in 1876. Each was to be placed in a working class district of the city.

1. at the junction of Market Place and Bow Street;
2. in Market Square;
3. in the Castle Gardens, which remains in its original position;
4. at the junction of Seymour Street, Low Road and Millbrook, in front of the Seymour Street Methodist Church;
5. in the Wallace Park, main walk.

During the war years three of the fountains were dismantled to accommodate the demand for metal to make armaments. Numbers 2 and 3 are the only remaining fountains.

The fountain at Market Square was relocated to Wallace Gardens circa 1922 to allow for the erection of a monument to General John Nicholson. Vandalised in the 1970s and 1980s it was returned to Market Square where the monument and fountain resided in a sunken garden. In 2013 the fountain was returned to its previous home in Wallace Park.

The Castle Gardens and its Wallace fountain were restored by Lisburn City Council with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The base of the famous forest green fountain (the colour chosen to blend in with parks and trees) is a Greek cross plinth with canted corners from which the pedestal arises. An elaborate console decorated with a scallop shell from which a string of pearls flows separates four column panels on which the image of a water serpent is coiled around a trident. The trident is associated with the mythological Poseidon who struck the earth and water sprung up. A scallop is symbolic of baptism and fertility, and pearls represent purity and wisdom.

A cornice contains the name of the manufacturer, Val D’Osne, and another records the name of the sculptor, Ch. Lebourg SC / 1872. Four caratytids, each subtly different in posture and dress, stand with raised arms to support a fish scale dome with fleur-de-lys cornice. The four dolphins with entwined tails at the apex are a symbolic protector of all things related to water.

The statues in feminine form represent kindness, simplicity, charity and sobriety (at a time when the Temperance Movement was very active.) They also represent the 4 seasons: Simplicity symbolizes spring, Charity: summer, Sobriety: autumn and Kindness: winter. The statues differ from each other in several other ways: Simplicity and Sobriety have their eyes closed; whereas the eyes of Kindness and Charity are open. They are also different in the position of the knee and feet, or by the manner in which their tunic is knotted at the bodice.

A stream of water descended from the interior of the dome into a basin. Tin cups were originally chained to the fountains until public hygiene became a prevalent social issue.

Glossary

• Canted corner, an angled surface which cuts of a corner
• Caryatid, a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head
• Cornice, a molding or ornamentation that projects from the top of a building
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.

Circa 1884 location Market Square. Source: http://www.lisburn.com/oldphotographs/Photo_pages/market-square-lisburn-1884.html

Location: Seymour Street Methodist Church. This image is reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland [STP_2290]

Location: Wallace Park. Creative Commons License, Albert Bridge. Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Location: Wallace Park. Used with permission. Source: http://www.janmary.com/one-of-wallace-fountains-this-one-is-in/

Location: Wallace Park. Source: http://www.francofiled.org/2013_09_01_archive.html

Location: Market Square. Creative Commons License, Notafly. Source:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALisburnWallaceFountain_(2).JPG

Location: Market Square. Creative Commons License, Albert Bridge. Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Source: http://www.francofiled.org/2013_09_01_archive.html

Creative Commons License, Albert Bridge. Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Creative Commons License, Albert Bridge. Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Creative Commons License, Albert Bridge. Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Creative Commons License, Albert Bridge. Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Mariani Fountain

Location: San Francisco, CA, USA

There is some dispute as to the origins of this fountain now located in Aquatic Park which was previously located at 23rd and Columbia (now Florida) Streets in front of the S. Mariani & Sons hardware store.

A member of the Mariani family stated that the fountain was cast in Oakland in 1872 and acquired by her father nine years later. However, documents included in the Karl Kortum papers at the San Francisco Maritime library identify the fountain as previously outside the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society (known as Peter Donahue’s Bank) at Montgomery & Post during the 1870s and 1880s. In 1881 it was relocated outside the Mariani hardware store. Perhaps it was purchased by Mariani to be erected outside his business.

Year 1957. Source: http://aboutinthecity.blogspot.ca/2010/04/forgotten-fountain.html

The above photograph was part of a newspaper article. The caption reads, “Not for sale is this original 82 year-old Mission fountain, owned by Walter A. Mariani, long-time hardware merchant. The City wants it for a bridle path on Sunset Blvd. Mrs. Amanda Rivera poses beside the relic.”

The move to Sunet Blvd did not come to fruition. However, it was relocated to a newly created park (the vision of Maritime Museum director, Karl Kortum ) at the Hyde Street cable car turntable and the dead-end of Jefferson Street. The fountain was donated to the park by the Mariani family where it was erected in 1962.

The cast iron octagonal pedestal fountain offered a supply of drinking water to humans, horses and smaller animals. Arched panels and rosettes decorated the column. A fluted, recessed, demilune basin with a cup suspended on a chain offered a drinking receptacle for humans. On the opposite side a fluted trough was offered for the refreshment of horses. Water flowed from a lion mask. Small fluted demilune basins were situated at ground level on the remaining two sides for the convenience of dogs. Overflow water from the basins above was released from a lion’s head mask.

A small engraved plaque inset to the ground states, A Gift To The State Of California By The Pioneer Mariani Family. The Grandfather, James Mariani, Arrived On These Shores In 1852. Presented In The Memory Of The Father, Stephen Mariani, Who Purchased The Fountain In 1881 To Place In Front Of His Establishment At 23rd And Florida November 1961.

Used with permission, Carl Pistaturo. Source: http://carlpisaturo.com/Carlovision_MAIN.html

Used with permission, Carl Pistaturo. Source: http://carlpisaturo.com/Carlovision_MAIN.html

Aquatic park location

Year 2010. Source: http://aboutinthecity.blogspot.ca/2010/04/forgotten-fountain.html#comment-form

Glossary:
• Demilune, half moon or crescent shape
• Fluted, a long rounded groove
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue

MacKirdy Fountain

Location: Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland

In 1873 water from a spring in Greenburn hill was directed to the village using a ditch. An agreement to provide the village with a proper water supply was reached years later with John MacKirdy who promised a generous donation to create what would become known as the MacKirdy tank. As part of the agreement, Birkwood House (the MacKirdy home) would benefit from the water supply, and a drinking fountain would be erected in the village.

Source: http://www.clydesdalesheritage.org.uk/old-photos-lesmahagow/

Source: http://www.clydesdalesheritage.org.uk/old-photos-lesmahagow/

The drinking fountain was erected in the 1880s at the junction of Abbey road and New Trows Road where it remained until 1926 when it became an obstacle to bus traffic. A decision was made to relocate the structure to MacKirdy Park, but during the dismantling process it was damaged beyond repair.

Source: http://www.clydesdalesheritage.org.uk/old-photos-lesmahagow/

The junction continued to be referred to as the Fountain, and following pressure from local residents the South Lanarkshire Council authorised the creation of a reproduction. Machan Engineering was hired to manufacture and install an exact replica of the original fountain. This was accomplished using original moulds and new pieces created from drawings of the original. JPS Restoration & Property Services assisted in the assembly of the whole, the installation of the fountain and painting of the structure. The drinking fountain was restored to its original location on 24th June 2010.

The canopied drinking fountain is design number 21 (18 feet by 4 feet) from Walter Macfarlane’s catalog manufactured at the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Scotland. Seated on a circular plinth (originally a two tiered octagonal plinth), the canopy is supported by eight columns with griffin terminals which are positioned over capitals with foliage frieze above square bases.

The highly decorated cusped arches are trimmed with rope mouldings which display lunettes with alternate images of cranes and swans, or optional memorial shields. On each side arch faceplates provide a flat surface for inscription using raised metal letters; often the useful monition, Keep the pavement dry. Civic virtues such as temperance were often extolled in inscriptions on drinking fountains.

Doves and flowers offer decorative relief on the circular, open filigree, ribbed dome. The openwork iron canopy was originally surmounted with a lantern finial.

 

Under the canopy stands the font, design number 4 (4ft. 9ins), a single decorative pedestal seated on an octagonal base. The interior surface of the basin is engraved with a scalloped design. An elongated column decorated with floral relief offered drinking cups suspended by chains from two consoles.

Symbolism was popular in Victorian times. Griffins are symbolic of guardians of priceless possessions; owls are symbolic of guardians of the afterlife; and cranes are recognized as a symbol of vigilance.

 

Year 1910. Used with permission. Source: http://cms.esi.info/Media/productImages/65863_1349958558657_PF.jpg

Used with permission. Source: http://www.djhweb.co.uk/gallerylesmahagow.php

Used with permission, James Brown. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8899981@N05/5028688585/in/photostream/

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Jpsrestoration

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Jpsrestoration

Year 2010. Used with permission

Used with permission. Source: http://www.djhweb.co.uk/gallerylesmahagow.php

Used with permission. Source: http://www.djhweb.co.uk/gallerylesmahagow.php

Year 2012. Used with permission. Source: http://www.djhweb.co.uk/gallerylesmahagow.php

Glossary

• Capital, the top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Console, a decorative bracket support element
• Cusped Arch, the point of intersection of lobed or scalloped forms
• 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 moulding just below the cornice, often decorated with carvings
• 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
• 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