Tipton Fountain

Location: Sandwell, Staffordshire, England

The canopy is all that remains of a drinking fountain located in Victoria Park, Tipton. It was commissioned by Mr. George Monnington Waring and his wife Elizabeth to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. It was unveiled on June 29, 1901 and was listed as a Grade II historic building on 29^th September 1987.

The structure was restored in 2014 by Dorothea Restorations. Repairs were made and missing items recast before being gilded and painted.

The canopied drinking fountain was design number 21 (18 feet by 4 feet) from Walter Macfarlane & Co.’s catalog manufactured by the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Scotland. Seated on 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 an image of a cranes and two memorial shields: Presented To The Inhabitants Of Tipton By Mr & Mrs G M Waring In Commemoration Of Their Golden Wedding And Residence In The Parish For Upwards Of 50 Years, April 1901.

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 internal capitals are floral ornament, and statues of owls on enlarged column heads. The openwork iron canopy is surmounted with a vase and spiked obelisk finial.

Under the canopy the standard design was font casting number 7. The 5 ft 8ins high font was a single decorative pedestal with four pilasters and descending salamander relief supporting a basin 2 ft 6 ins in diameter. The interior surface of the scalloped edge basin was engraved with decorative relief, and a sculptured vase was terminated by the figure of a crane. Four elaborate consoles supported drinking cups on chains. Water flowed from a spout into the drinking cup by pressing its edge against a projecting stud below the spout. The self-closing valve thus allowing for operation with only one hand.

Symbolism was popular in Victorian times. Griffins are symbolic of guardians of priceless possessions; lions are symbolic of guardianship; doves are synonymous with peace, and owls are symbolic of guardians of the afterlife. Cranes are recognized as a symbol of vigilance and are often depicted standing on one leg while holding a stone in the claws of the other foot. Legend states that if the watchful crane fell asleep the stone would fall and waken the bird.

Circa 2001

Creative Commons License, Brian Boru. Sourc: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tipton_Victoria_Park_Drinking_Fountain_Canopy.JPG

Creative Commons License, John M. Source: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1247638

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
• 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
• Fret, running or repeated ornament
• Frieze, the horizontal part of a classical moulding just below the cornice, often decorated with carvings
• 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
• Obelisk, a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top
• 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

Fireman’s Drinking Fountain

Location: Slatington, Pennsylvania, USA

A 12 foot high drinking fountain manufactured by the E.T. Barnum Company of Detroit, Michigan with the statue of a fireman was purchased with the help of local subscriptions. It was erected in 1910 on Main Street to provide drinking water to people, horses and dogs. It was dedicated on April 10, 1910 by Hose Company # 1, Slatington.

The fountain is seated on a two tiered hexagonal plinth housing a small trough at ground level for dogs and smaller animals. The pedestal supports a large fluted demi-lune trough at the roadside for the use of horses which was removed sometime prior to 1960 per photographic evidence. A decorative shield within the trough protected the float valve and ball cock from damage by horses. A smaller fluted basin facing the sidewalk allowed humans to quench their thirst. A cornice of egg and dart moulding is located beneath the capital which supports a statue of a fireman.

The 7 foot 3 inches high zinc statue depicts a volunteer fireman with handlebar moustache, wearing a rubber fire coat, rubber boots, and a pointed hat. The statue carries a child on his left arm and a lantern in his right hand which is illuminated with an electric light bulb. The statue was purchased from J. W. Fiske Iron Works, New York City. It represents past and present volunteers in the Slatington region. In 2002, to honor the firefighters who perished in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, one of the statue’s gold buttons was painted “NYFD”. The piping on the clothes of the child was changed to blue instead of pink – the reason for changing the sex of the child is unknown.

Throughout its history the structure was hit twice by an automobile. The incident in 1979 beheaded the statue initiating a costly restoration and re-dedication on July 19, 1980 following a large parade. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The structure was rededicated on 11 September 2010 as part of its 100^th anniversary.

 

Circa 1910

Circa 1960

Source: Wikipedia

Glossary

• Capital, the top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Cornice, a molding or ornamentation that projects from the top of a building
• Demi-lune, half moon or crescent shape
• Egg and dart, a carving of alternating oval shapes and dart or arrow shapes
• Fluted, a long rounded groove
• Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
• Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.