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.
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.
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.
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.
Historic photographs of the city center at the intersection of Avenue Sete de Setembro and Avenue Eduardo Ribeiro show a trough/drinking fountain.
This location was also the route for tram 53 of the Manaus Railway. Image dated 1909.
A photograph dated 1906 taken from a different vantage point showing the fountain in Praça XV de Novembro (November 15 Square, this date in 1889 commemorates the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil), reveals the fountain with a lamp pillar not evident in the previous images.
The design appears to be a Macfarlane No 27 manufactured by the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Scotland. It 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 lantern (#230) roofed in with scales of opal glass which allowed the lantern to cast the light downward. The terminal was a crown.
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
Terminal, statue or ornament that stands on a pedestal
At the end of the 19th century, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of Skaneateles donated a public drinking fountain to the village in order to supply fresh water to both horses and men. Mrs. Frances Julia Barnes, a Temperance Reformer and the General Secretary of the Young Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, dedicated the fountain in August 1895. Raising a cup she offered a toast, “To the health of our village in the best of all drinks, cold water.”
The manufacturer of the drinking fountain/horse trough is unverified as designs by M.D. Jones of Boston, Massachusetts and J.L. Mott of New York are very similar.
Seated on a square block the base with fluted pedestal supported a wide basin decorated with foliate frieze and a fluted cornice. A decorative pillar in the centre of the basin delivered water via the mouths of lion mascarons which was retrieved using a metal cup suspended on a chain. A covered water filler protected a float valve which maintained the water level in the basin.
At the extension of the pillar a candelabra console offered two lamp fixtures with a central capped urn finial.
Glossary:
Console, a decorative bracket support element
Cornice, a molding or ornamentation that projects from the top of a building
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
Frieze, the horizontal part of a classical moulding just below the cornice, often decorated with carvings
Mascaron, a decorative element in the form of a sculpted face or head of a human being or an animal
Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
Following an apprenticeship with Hope Iron Works in Pawtucket, Henry F. Jenks started manufacturing fountains of his own design in 1871. Through his efforts modern drinking fountains were placed in convenient places about the city.
A drinking fountain for man and beast was installed at Exchange Street in Pawtucket. The same model was also located at Point Street in Providence outside the Fire Station.
Exchange Street, Pawtucket
A modification of the fountain with a lamp post was erected in Prospect Street, Pawtucket and in 1891 the town of Pascoag decided to purchase a similar fountain and placed it in Pascoag Square which would later become known as Fountain Square. It proved to be very popular as four horses could drink from it at the same time.
The same model with lantern stood outside the Farwell worsted mill on Pine Street in Central Falls.
Henry F. Jenks’ drinking fountain for man and beast was manufactured in cast iron with a fluted circular moulding creating a trough at ground level for the use of dogs. Arched panels contained the image in bas-relief of a woman dressed in classical robes raising a cup/bowl in her right hand and a pitcher in her left hand. The manufacturer’s name, Henry F. Jenks / Pawtucket, R.I. was inlaid on the pedestal and one movable panel offered access to plumbing. A horse trough, 56 inches in diameter, in the form of a basin was 4 feet 3 inches above ground level (a comfortable height for horses to drink with ease) and had the capacity to hold a barrel of water (42 gallons).
The centre of the basin contained a jamb from which four dolphin mascarons spouted water into the basin with the overflow falling to the dog trough below. This design prevented contagious distemper. Drinking cups were attached by chains for the use of humans.
The fountain was provided with self closing faucets and the pipes within were constructed to resist freezing in cold temperatures. Fountains were supplied both with and without an ice box attachment as desired. An ice box was placed near the sidewalk underground, which was provided with coils of tin lined pipe on which ice was placed to cool the water flowing through the coils to the outlet of the fountain.
The highly decorated finial, with floriated relief and a studded band, terminated in an orb. The structure was also offered with a gas lantern extension.
The years 1914 and 1915 saw an epidemic of glanders in several sections of the Atlantic coast states, and many cities closed their existing horse drinking fountains, as it was believed that the disease was spread by the common use of bowls or troughs. Instead, drivers were asked, or required by ordinance, to carry with each horse-drawn vehicle a pail for watering horses. It remained to provide facilities for filling these pails, and this was done in different ways. In Boston, New Bedford and some other cities, fountains of the horse bowl type known as the H. F. Jenks pattern were adapted as follows: The bowls were removed and replaced with new castings containing three or more self-closing faucets, designed with a special view to being non-freezable. This appears to have given entire satisfaction.
Glossary:
Annular; circular, ring shaped
Attic base, a column base with two rings
Bas-relief, sculpted material that has been raised from the background to create a slight projection from the surface
Capital, the top of a column that supports the load bearing down on it
Finial, a sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure
Fluted Shaft, a long rounded groove decorating the shaft of a column
Fret, running or repeated ornament
Jamb, a projecting vertical post containing sculpture
Mascaron, a decorative element in the form of a sculpted face or head of a human being or an animal
Pedestal, an architectural support for a column or statue
Plinth, flat base usually projecting, upon which a pedestal, wall or column rests.
Memorial Drinking Fountains 