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Water fountain and drinking trough. Octagonal trough, now planter, with small drinking bowl with gablet. Circular polished granite column rises from an elaborate base and has enriched capital with incsription and heraldic shields. Cast iron weather vane formerly with 4 light pendants. Originallly looked like: An ornamental drinking fountain and lamp in the Gothic style. The lower part is octagonal in plan and contains a water trough for horses and cattle, and at the base four smaller troughs for sheep and dogs. There are also four polished granite canopies on the base containing cups for humans. At the centre of the trough is a polished granite column, surmounted by an ornate capitol with rich carvings including the coat of arms of Cheshire. Above this is a metal canopy inside of which is a hanging lamp (based on those Darbyshire had designed for Manchester’s jubilee exhibition in 1887). On the top of the canopy was a pinnacle supporting a banneret which contained the letters R.O.

In 1888, shortly after Ockleston's death, Richard Brown (one of the Doctor's friends) suggested that a memorial be erected in his memory. A committee was established, a circular distributed and the subscription opened. The subscription found support "in all classes and stations of life, spread over a very wide area." At the unveiling, Sir Edward Watkin, who had that morning attended the funeral of John Bright, sought to compare the two men. He told the crowd that if the spirit of Bright had been there, it would have said "that even beyond the services of of the orator and statesman are the quiet services of the village doctor to scores and hundreds of suffering persons."(3) The memorial was unveiled and handed over to the local board by the Lord of the Manor, James Watt of Caudle Hall. The fountain was a centrepiece of the village and for years it provided water for thirsty animals. By the end of the century additional lamps had ben added to it. As horse drawn traffic declined it was less used and less maintained. When the memorial was moved the water troughs were planted with flowers. It was moved to its present location in 1967 to make way for a road scheme. NB the Darbyshire Archive at John Rylands.

William Ockleston (d. 1888), doctor of Cheadle. Known for his sympathy for the poor. He came to the village in the 1830s and became a popular and respected doctor known for his kindness and "his innocent-looking little white pills."(1) He enjoyed the rural life, being a passionate horseman. He was popular man - one who had come to form, in a memorable phrase, "the keystone of their identity as a village."(2) He died in February 1888

circa

raw year

Condition

At risk

Inscriptions

Signatures

Weathervane

Cast iron

250cm high approx

Trough

Titancrete

300cm across approx

Pillar

Polished granite

300cm high approx

Corrosion, Deterioration

Capital weathered

Broken, missing parts

Light pendants missing

Other

Trough and fountain filled with earth for plants

None