Description

TQ 2882 SE GREAT PORTLAND STREET

36/50 Drinking Fountain outside
Underground Station

II

Drinking fountain. Late C19, cleaned and restored c1989. Provided by the
Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association. Grey granite.
Circular pedestal with moulded base and top, having 2 projecting D-shaped basins
surmounted by a central bronze urn with spouts above the basins. Pedestal flanked
by rectangular granite standing blocks for children. An unusual Association design.
Founded in 1859 the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association (Cattle Trough
added 1867) provided free fresh water to many humans and beasts at a time when ale
and spirits were easier to obtain than water and most supplies contaminated. The
Christian association of water with purity of spirit led evangelical Victorians to
become patrons of the Association which provided a catalogue of functional designs
although some wealthy patrons used their own.

Listing NGR: TQ2887882175

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26540813

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]