Lion’s Mouth Fountain

Location: Selborne, East Hampshire, England

Inset into a masonry wall located on the B3006 at the south end of the village of Selborne, is a fountain and cattle trough. It was manufactured by the Saracen foundry from a design prepared by TP Hall, Portsmouth and donated to the Village by Mr. W. Mills in 1879.

Source: Lion’s head fountain, Selbourne, Hampshire c.1890 (bathintime.co.uk)

Creative Commons License, Basher Eyre. Source: A chilly drinking fountain at Selborne © Basher Eyre cc-by-sa/2.0 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland

The structure consists of a trough supported by two cattle fetlocks and an arch plate with bas relief of a lion mascaron flanked by two windmills. It is surmised that the significance is related to a corn mill in Selborne and the Dorton water mill, no longer in existence. An inscription above the lion head states PRESENTED BY and the year 1879 is inscribed below the lion head.

Source: https://findaspring.org/spring/uk/lions-mouth-fountain-well-head-spring-selborne/#foogallery-15278/i:1

A spring rising from Noar Hill was the source of water which spouted from the mouth of the lion into a trough and also through a standing pipe. In 1894, to create a water-supply for the village, the spring was diverted by public subscription in memory of Gilbert White who was a local pioneering naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist.

https://www.ianclarkrestoration.com/62/Victorian-Lions-Head-Drinking-Fountain-restoration-and-protection/

Source: https://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/threads/water-fountain-ram-pump-june-2010.15612/

To the left is a plaque advising visitors that the water supply is NOT DRINKING WATER / DO NOT DRINK. An arched door on the right states: THIS WATER SUPPLY / WAS / GIVEN TO SELBORNE / BY VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTIONS / IN MEMORY OF / GILBERT WHITE / 1894. Behind the door is a hydraulic pump which pumped the water to stand pipes in the village until Selborne was supplied with piped water via the reservoir in 1934.

Restoration of the structures was completed by Ian Clark Restoration. Victorian Lions Head Drinking Fountain Restoration (ianclarkrestoration.com)

Glossary

• Bas-relief, sculpted material that has been raised from the background to create a slight projection from the surface
• Mascaron, a decorative element in the form of a sculpted face or head of a human being or an animal

Neptune Fountain

Location: London, England

The drinking fountain attached to a pillar in Kew Gardens featuring a mask of Neptune and a mermaid is believed to have been installed in 1859.

A newspaper article reported the following: DRINKING FOUNTAIN FOR KEW GARDENS. A drinking fountain or two for those splendid and extensive pleasure grounds for the people, are now, from the very great numbers flocking to them, very much required. Till such a needful want is supplied, a delicious glass of pure spring water may be had (gratis) by all visitors, of the official attendant in livery in charge of the lower room of the new Museum, opposite the Palm House in the Botanic Gardens.

Unfortunately I have been unable to discover any information related to the manufacturer of this model.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacqib/463032849/

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiggrx/6633637525/

Creative Commons License, Rob Young
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rob-young/3998178920/

The Lost Drinking Fountains of Wednesbury

Location: Wednesbury, West Midlands, England

On the 21st June 1887, to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, Brunswick Park (designed by William Barron and Son) was opened by the Mayor Alderman Richard Williams, J.P.

Drawings for a fountain were submitted by George Smith & Co. and Walter MacFarlane & Co. The cast iron canopied drinking fountain selected was number 3 from George Smith & Co.’s Sun Foundry and was 9 feet 10 inches high. The structure consisted of four columns with obelisk finials rising from a two tiered plinth to support a domed canopy. The interior column connectors to the dome were adorned with descending alligators and leafy decoration. Alligators were considered a symbol of evil and were hung from the ceilings of cabinets as a reminder of the mortality of humanity.

Arch faceplates offered a flat surface for inscriptions in raised metal letters: civic virtues such as temperance were extolled on many drinking fountains. Over each arch, cartouches within each lunette offered commemorative dedication or crests; the town’s coat of arms is visible in the photograph.

The solid dome with finial covered the fluted pedestal and wide basin containing a standing putto (design #7) holding an urn from which water flowed.

Glossary:

• 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
• Lunette, the half-moon shaped space framed by an arch, often containing a window or painting
• Finial, A sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
• Fluted, A long rounded groove decorating the shaft of a column
• Obelisk, A tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top
• Plinth, Flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.
• Putto, A figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually nude

In Kings Hill Park, a fountain was placed on the footpath atop a three tiered plinth. The 6’ 2” drinking fountain, design number 18, was manufactured by Walter Macfarlane’s Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Scotland. It had a wide base in the form of a St. Andrew’s cross with canted corners, on which was set a circular shaft ornamented with water lilies. Four lion jambs supported four highly decorated quatrefoil basins. An obelisk with swan and bird relief rose from the center of the basins. A capped urn terminal with four consoles offered drinking cups suspended by chains.

Symbolism was popular in Victorian times. Griffins are symbolic of guardians of priceless possessions; lions are symbolic of guardianship; owls are symbolic of guardians of the afterlife, and eagles represent immortality.

Glossary

• Canted corner, an angled surface which cuts of a corner
• Console, a decorative bracket support element
• Jamb, a projecting vertical post containing sculpture
• Kylix, a Grecian style drinking cup
• Obelisk, a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top
• Quatrefoil, a type of decorative framework consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially-overlapping circles of the same diameter
• Terminal, statue or ornament that stands on a pedestal

During World War II these cast iron structures, in addition to railings and the cannons from the mount, were removed to recycle metal as a way of assisting in the war effort.

Old Elvet Drinking Fountain and Trough

Location: Old Elvet, Durham, England

In the 19^th century a cast iron drinking fountain/horse trough was located outside the Royal County Hotel in Old Elvet.

With regards to the history of this structure, I have been able to discover very little. A volume of the Builder Magazine for 1863 reported that a drinking fountain was situated at the foot of Elvet Bridge. Durham Record Office identifies it as being erected in 1864, and there are numerous links (mostly Pinterest) that state it was presented by Coroner of the Chester Ward, John Graham, and his wife in 1896.

Circa 1911

Design #27 was manufactured by Walter Macfarlane & Co. in the Saracen Foundry, Glasgow. The design was advertised as 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 small basins for dogs at ground level. The trough was a 6’6” diameter circular cast iron basin supported on legs in the form of horse hooves. Fetlocks transitioned into an acanthus scroll motif at the interface with the trough. The water was regulated by a small patent cistern, which was self-acting, and when the troughs were full the ball rose and shut the water off.

The central stanchion supported a central column with flared bases and pilasters. Four projecting consoles suspended cups on chains that allowed humans to drink from spouting water (the water flow was operated with two bib valves which released water when pressed). Horses drank from the large basin.

A dedication shield located directly above the consoles was adhered to the fluted shaft. The decorative capital, enriched with acanthus and rosette with a dog tooth frieze, supported a central gas lamp.

Circa 1914

Glossary

• Acanthus, one of the most common plant forms (deeply cut leaves) to make foliage ornament and decoration. It is symbolic of a problem that has been solved.
• Capital, the top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
• Console, a decorative bracket support element
• Dog tooth, pyramid shaped carving
• Fluted Shaft, a long rounded groove decorating the shaft of a column
• Frieze, the horizontal part of a classical moulding just below the cornice, often decorated with carvings
• Pilaster, a column form that is only ornamental and not supporting a structure
• Rosette, a round stylized flower design
• Stanchion, upright bar, post or frame providing support