Kirkton Cross Fountain

Location: High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland

It is believed that the drinking fountain which was located outside the old cemetery gates at the area known as Kirkton Cross was installed between 1898 and 1905. Little is known regarding the history of this structure. It no longer exists, and the date of its demise is unknown. Maps from 1910 and 1936 identify the fountain in situ; it may have been removed during the renovation of Main Street in the late 1950s.

Used with permission, Paul Veverka. Source: http://www.blantyreproject.com

Indistinct images on old photographs would appear to indicate that the drinking fountain was number 8 from Walter Macfarlane & Co.’s catalogue. It was 9 feet 6 inches high and was manufactured at the Saracen Foundry at Possilpark in Glasgow. The structure consisted of four columns, from the capitals of which consoles with griffin terminals united with arches formed of decorated mouldings.

Used with permission, Paul Veverka. Source: http://www.blantyreproject.com

Used with permission, Paul Veverka. Source: http://www.blantyreproject.com

Used with permission, Paul Veverka. Source: http://www.blantyreproject.com

In the standard design, rope moulded cartouches within each lunette hosted the image of a crane, and an open bible displaying 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.’ However, as customization was encouraged and photographs do not offer detail, there is no evidence to confirm what was contained within the the lunettes. (Several similar drinking fountains in Airdrie, Brora and Stranraer contain profile images of Queen Victoria.)

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 with a lantern finial.

Under the canopy stood the font (design number 7), 5 foot 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.

Design #8 advertisement indicates that any of the fountains can be supplied with a Lamp.

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.

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
• 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
• 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

Lakewood Township Drinking Fountain

Location: Lakewood, New Jersey, USA

The village of Lakewood became a Township on March 23, 1893. When several high profile families purchased real estate in the area, it became a vacation resort for the wealthy.

Although the installation of a drinking fountain was the idea of William J. Harrison, Druggist and State Senator in 1903, Captain Albert M. Bradshaw , a real estate agent who handled Rockefeller’s real estate transactions, was put in charge of the project raising $1,000 by subscription. The social hierarchy was evident when a small drinking trough at ground level for dogs was designated for ‘not strays, but the hounds of the Lakewood Hunt Club’.

Circa 1894. Source: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5RK0_Horse_Fountain_Lakewood_NJ

Circa 1906. Fountain is on right side of image

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The drinking fountain was located on Clifton Avenue from 1891 until 1938 when construction began on the post office. The structure was then moved to Main Street at North Lake Drive and Madison Avenue. The lamps were removed and the fountain no longer issued water.

In 1981 during redesign of the downtown area the fountain was moved to within 100 feet of its original location at the northeast corner of Clifton Avenue and Main Street near the Post Office.

Source: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM8528_Watertrough_Lakewood_NJ

Source: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM8528_Watertrough_Lakewood_NJ

The fountain was again relocated in 2016 to a circular driveway in front of Kuser Hall, the new home of the Sheldon Wolpin Lakewood Historical Museum. The museum can be found inside Pine Park, the home of Lakewood Country Club.

Image by Christopher Seitz

The cast iron structure manufactured by J. L. Mott Iron Works is seated on an octagonal base with chamfered corners. A small basin at ground level allowed dogs to drink, and two large fluted troughs serviced the thirst of horses and cattle. A bronze plaque is inscribed; Erected By / Subscription / 1891 / Made By / The J.L. Mott.Iron.Works / New York.

Eight panels, surmounted with scalloped arches, hosted dolphin masks from which water spouted into four demi-lune basins decorated with laurel leaves. Anchored adjacent to the basin were drinking cups suspended on chains. A square central column displayed cartouches containing an orb surrounded by flourish. Each corner was bound with a highly decorated pilaster.

The capital supported an urn flanked by two elaborate consoles supporting glass lanterns. The highly decorated urn was capped with an orb and pineapple finial (symbolic of friendship and hospitality).

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.
• Chamfered, a beveled edge connecting two surfaces
• Console, a decorative bracket support element
• Demi-lune, half moon or crescent shape
• Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
• Fluted, a long rounded groove
• Mask/Mascaron, a decorative element in the form of a sculpted face or head of a human being or an animal
• Pilaster, a column form that is only ornamental and not supporting a structure