Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
Fountain Photograph
Region ID | EM | |
Work ID | 6 | |
Manual Reference | LE007TC | |
Type | Ornamental Fountain | |
Title | Fountain | |
Designer | Hames, Francis J. | |
Date of design | 1879 | |
Year of unveiling | ||
Unveiling details | Wednesday 24 September 1879 | |
Road | Town Hall Square | |
Precise Location | Town Hall Square, centrally placed towards Bishop Street | |
A to Z Ref | 4 D4 (1) | |
OS Ref | SK588043 | |
Postcode | LE1 | |
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | II | |
Duty of Care | Leicester City Council | |
Commissioned by | Sir Israel Hart | |
Notes | ||
Located in Town Hall Square towards the SE side (Bishop Street), the ornamental fountain has three circular basins, diminishing progressively in diameter towards the top. The lowest, set on the ground, is formed of massive blocks of shap granite surrounded by a low metal railing painted black and supported by eight polished Ross of Mull granite posts. The fountain proper is of cast iron, bronzed, and stands on a rusticated Ross of Mull granite base. The fountain is in eighteen pieces and weighs nine tons. Crouched on the arms of the cruciform base are four Assyrian-style winged lions, water gushing from their mouths. Alternating with these are fluted Ionic half-columns. Above these is the central basin, out of which water gushes from outlets shaped like flagons over the spaces between the lions. The top basin spouts water vertically from a cluster of bulrushes. Each basin has foliated ornamentation. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | ||
Condition | Good | |
At risk | Not at risk | |
Inscriptions | on inner faces of arms of cruciform base of fountain (diagonally aligned to Town Hall entrance on SW side of square: Lefthand arm: PRESENTED. TO. THE. BOROUGH. OF. / LEICESTER. BY. ISRAEL. HART. ESQRE. / HIGH. BAILIFF. A.D. 1879. Righthand arm: ON. THE. OCCASION. OF. THIS. / LAND. BEING. ENCLOSED. AND. / LAID. OUT. ORNAMENTALLY. On face of base between these two arms beneath a coat-of-arms: CLEMENT. STRETTON. MAYOR. | |
Signatures | None visible | |
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
fountain | cast iron | h. 716 cm |
main basin | shap granite | diam. 914 cm |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
Corrosion, Deterioration | bronze paint on lions worn away in places |
Structural Condition
Structural Condition | Comment |
|---|---|
None | |
