English country house fountains
Fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
s became a decorative feature of the
English country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
as early as the end of the 17th century. These baroque fountains were influenced by the fountains of the
Italian Renaissance garden
The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the landsc ...
and the
Garden à la française
The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the l ...
, particularly the fountains of
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
.
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family sin ...
in Derbyshire featured a cascade and fountains (1696-1703) in the style of French baroque gardens. It had a seahorse fountain and a willow tree fountain, which sprayed water on unsuspecting visitors.
In 1843 the
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has be ...
, the owner of Chatworth House, learned that the Tsar
Nicholas of Russia was planning to visit his home. To mark the occasion, the Duke commissioned his gardener
Joseph Paxton
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
to construct the world's highest fountain on his estate. Paxton built an eight-acre lake as a reservoir for the fountain, 350 feet above the level of the fountain, to provide water pressure. The
Emperor Fountain
The Emperor Fountain is a 19th-century fountain in the grounds of Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England. The Canal Pond in which the fountain stands is long and wide. The fountain and pairs of surrounding sculptures has been designated by Eng ...
was finished in just six months, and could jet water 296 feet high. Unfortunately the Tsar never came to see fountain, but it still functions today.
In the nineteenth century, the development of steam engines allowed the construction of more dramatic fountains. In the middle of the century the
Earl of Stamford
Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, ...
built the
Great Fountain, Enville
The Great Fountain, Enville, was a fountain created in the mid-19th century by the Earl of Stamford in the middle of a lake on his Enville Hall estate, in Enville, Staffordshire, England.
The fountain was described by English artist, E. Adveno ...
, which jetted water 150 feet above the surface of a lake on his estate. He used two steam engines to pump water to a reservoir at the top of the hill above his estate. The fountain could spout water for several minutes, until the reservoir was empty.
In the early 21st Century, Lord Neidpath (now
Earl of Wemyss and March
Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scotland, Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss Castle, Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldo ...
) commissioned a giant, gravity-fed fountain at his family's ancestral home of
Stanway House
Stanway House is a Jacobean manor house, located near the village of Stanway in Gloucestershire, England. The manor of Stanway was owned by Tewkesbury Abbey for 800 years then for 500 years by the Tracy family and their descendants, the Earls ...
, in the
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale.
The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
. The fountain is driven by two reservoirs over a mile from the canal in the gardens of the house, and the custom-made bronze nozzle in the lake can produce a plume of water tall. The fountain is the tallest in Britain - seconded by
Witley Court
Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire, England is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the architect ...
at ; the tallest gravity-fed fountain in the world - seconded by the Fountain of Fame at the
Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso,
Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau (''Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of th ...
, Spain at ; and the second tallest fountain of any kind in Europe - only exceeded by the -high
Jet d'Eau
The Jet d'Eau (, ''Water-Jet'') is a large fountain in Geneva, Switzerland and is one of the city's most famous landmarks, being featured on the city's official tourism web site and on the official logo for Geneva's hosting of group stage matches ...
(driven by
turbine
A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating e ...
) in
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
.
London fountains
In the 19th century, major European cities, led by London and Paris, began to use aqueducts, artesian wells and steam pumps to supply drinking water directly to homes. Fountains gradually ceased to be sources of drinking water and became public monuments in city squares and parks, honouring national heroes and events.
The fountains in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
were not part of the original design of the square, which was created beginning in 1826 to commemorate the victory of
Lord Nelson
Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British people, British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strate ...
over the fleet of
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
1805. The fountains were added in 1845 by architect
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...
, famous for designing the
Houses of Parliament
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
, to break up the vast open space of the square and also to reduce the space available for unruly street demonstrations. The fountains were powered by a steam engine behind the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
, which pumped water that came from an
Artesian Well
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...
.
The original fountains were replaced in 1938-47 with two new fountains designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with sculptures by Sir Charles Wheeler and William McMillian, as monuments to two British naval heroes of the First World War, Lord
John Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland ...
and Lord
David Beatty. They were rebuilt again, with new pumps and lighting, in 2009.
The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in
Piccadilly Circus, London by
Alfred Gilbert
Sir Alfred Gilbert (12 August 18544 November 1934) was an English sculptor. He was born in London and studied sculpture under Joseph Boehm, Matthew Noble, Édouard Lantéri and Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His first work of importance was ''The Kis ...
, features an aluminium statue of
Anteros
In Greek mythology, Anteros (; Ancient Greek: Ἀντέρως ''Antérōs'') was the god of requited love (literally "love returned" or "counter-love") and also the punisher of those who scorn love and the advances of others, or the avenger of u ...
representing "The Angel of Christian Charity." It was built in 1893 to honour the British philanthropist
Lord Shaftesbury
Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his fa ...
, but instead it scandalised Londoners, who thought it was a statue of
Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...
.
Exposition fountains
In the 19th century, international expositions in London and Paris introduced fountains using new materials and technologies. The Crystal Fountain was the first of these fountains. Designed by Follett Osler, it was the world's first glass fountain, made of four tons of pure crystal glass. It was displayed in the central court of the Crystal Palace of the London
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
of 1851. It was destroyed by fire, along with the Crystal Palace, in 1936. The ''Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue of the Great Exhibition'' wrote in 1851 that the fountain was "perhaps the most striking object in the exhibition; the lightness and beauty, as well as the perfect novelty of the design, have rendered it the theme of admiration with all visitors. The ingenuity with which this has been effected is very perfect; it is supported by bars of iron, which are so completely embedded in the glass shafts, as to be invisible, and in no degree interfering with the purity and crystalline effect of the whole object.
Gallery of notable fountains in the United Kingdom
File:TrinityCollegeCamGreatCourt.jpg, The fountain in the Great Court of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
in the University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. The Great Court was constructed between 1599 and 1608.
File:Diana Fountain, Bushy Park.jpeg, The Diana Fountain, Bushy Park
The Diana Fountain in Bushy Park
Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately no ...
has statuary commissioned in the 1630s by Charles I, and a design probably by Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.
As the most notable archit ...
. The fountain was redesigned and relocated to its present site near the entrance of Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
Palace in 1713.
File:Grand Cascade.jpg, Cascade House at Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family sin ...
, Derbyshire (1696-1703)
File:Chatsworth House Fountain.jpg, The Emperor Fountain
The Emperor Fountain is a 19th-century fountain in the grounds of Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England. The Canal Pond in which the fountain stands is long and wide. The fountain and pairs of surrounding sculptures has been designated by Eng ...
, Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family sin ...
, Derbyshire (1843) was built for a visit of Tsar Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of ...
which never took place. It could jet water upward 296 feet.
File:Linlithgow Palace Fountain 01.jpg, Linlithgow Palace
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although mai ...
has as its centrepiece the oldest working fountain in Britain, dating from 1537 and said to flow with wine when Bonnie Prince Charlie
Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...
stayed here in 1745
File:The Atlas Fountain - geograph.org.uk - 394931.jpg, Atlas Fountain
The Atlas Fountain stands in the grounds of Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, England. It has been designated a Grade I listed building and is now recorded in the National Heritage List for England, maintained by Historic England.
History
T ...
by John Thomas opened in 1853 at Castle Howard
Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years. ...
File:Great Fountain, Enville.JPG, The Great Fountain, Enville (1857). Fed by a hilltop reservoir, it jetted water upwards 150 feet for the duration of a few minutes.
File:Buxton Memorial 50577.jpg, The Buxton Memorial Fountain
The Buxton Memorial Fountain is a memorial and drinking fountain in London, the United Kingdom, that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, and in particular, the role of British parliamentarians in the abolition ...
in London (1865) commemorates the emancipation of the slaves in the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in 1834.
File:Piccadilly.jpg, The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus, London. (1893), features an aluminium statue of Anteros representing "The Angel of Christian Charity." It was built to honour the British philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury,
File:Steble Fountain.JPG, The Steble Fountain
The Steble Fountain stands in William Brown Street, Liverpool, England, to the west of Wellington's Column. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It was donated to the city by a ...
(1877) in William Brown Street
William Brown Street in Liverpool, England, is a road that is remarkable for its concentration of public buildings. It is sometimes referred to as the "Cultural Quarter".
Originally known as ''Shaw's Brow'', a coaching road east from the city, ...
, Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, was a gift to the city from Colonel R.F Steble, who was a Mayor of Liverpool
The mayor of Liverpool is the executive mayor of the city of Liverpool in England. The incumbent mayor is Joanne Anderson, who was elected in May 2021.
The mayor of Liverpool was previously branded 'the most powerful politician in England outs ...
.
File:Doulton Fountain - Glasgow Green.jpg, on Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge.
History
In ...
(1888.) was originally made for the 1888 International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry
The International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry was the first of 4 international exhibitions held in Glasgow, Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It took place at Kelvingrove Park between May and November 1888. Th ...
in Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. The entire fountain is made of terra-cotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...
. The statue of Queen Victoria at the summit was destroyed by lightning and replaced by a copy.
File:Sloane Square.jpg, The Venus Fountain in Sloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the central London districts of Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The area forms a boundary betwe ...
, London (1953), depicts Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
, King Charles II and his mistress, Nell Gwynn
Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...
, who lived nearby the square.
File:Rising-universe.jpg, Rising Universe
''Rising Universe'', more commonly known locally as the Shelley Fountain, was a large kinetic water sculpture in Horsham, West Sussex, England. It was created by the sculptor Angela Conner and installed in 1996 to commemorate the bicentenary ...
(1992), in Horsham, West Sussex, England. was built to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
, who was born near Horsham. The sphere fills gradually with water, sinks slowly, then suddenly releases 6.5 tons of water, and rises again.
File:The River aka The Floozie in the Jacuzzi - Victoria Square - Birmingham - 2005-10-13.jpg, The River (1994), in Victoria Square, Birmingham
Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square. It is named in honour of Queen Victoria.
The square is often consid ...
was designed by Dhruva Mistry
Dhruva Mistry (born 1 January 1957) is an Indian sculpture, sculptor.
Biography
Mistry was born on 1 January 1957, Kanjari, central Gujarat in India and studied Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M. S. University of Baroda in 1974-1981 ...
. It is known locally as "the Floozie in the Jacuzzi."
File:Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain.JPG, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain is a memorial in London dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in 1997. It was designed to express Diana's spirit and love of children.
The fountain is located in the south ...
in Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
, London (2003)
File:Nottingham Square fountains - geograph.org.uk - 1310102.jpg, Old Market Square
The Old Market Square (Slab Square) is an open, pedestrianised city square in Nottingham, England, forming the heart of the city, and covering an area of approximately , or about 3 acres. It is one of the largest paved squares in the United K ...
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
by Kathryn Gustafson
Kathryn Gustafson (born 1951) is an American landscape architect. Her work includes the Gardens of the Imagination in Terrasson, France; a city square in Évry, France; and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London. Sh ...
opened in 2007
Bibliography
*Marilyn Symmes (editor), ''Fountains- Splash and Spectacle - Water and Design from the Renaissance to the Present''. Thames and Hudson, in association with the Cooper-Hewillt National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. (1988). ().
References
{{Europe topic, Fountains in