Earlsdon Drinking Fountain

A cast-iron drinking fountain manufactured by George Smith & Co, Glasgow in the 1860s; originally sited outside the Church of St John the Baptist, Coventry in around 1870, moved to its current position on Earlsdon Avenue in 1921.

MATERIALS: cast-iron with brass water taps.

DESCRIPTION: an octagonal structure sitting on a tapered plinth with a concave waist. There is a water bowl to the west and east faces, each with a brass water tap above, and there are also two openings at the base of the structure that serve as water basins for animals. The structure is topped by an ogee cupola with a gold-painted acorn finial and an embossed motif incorporating a fleur-de-lis to the north, east, south and west faces. The band below the cupola has decorative bolts at regular intervals that have been painted gold.