Civic Fountain

Civic fountain, installed in 1967, with standing sculptural panels by William Mitchell added in 1971.

MATERIALS: The sculptural panels are crafted from a combination of fibreglass and black concrete and stand on concrete plinths within a concrete pool; the exterior of the pool is faced in brown brick.

PLAN: The pool is round on plan; the three sculptures are detached from each other and arranged in a circle within the round pool.

DESCRIPTION: The civic fountain comprises three sculptural panels standing in a circle in a round pool, facing roughly southwards, westwards, and north-eastwards. The panels stand around 6 metres tall and 1.5 metres wide, and are roughly rectangular in shape with chamfered sides and / or plinths. The panels have sculptural reliefs on their outward and inward faces, combining stylised figurative and naturalistic forms with abstract and geometric borders and detailing. The imagery depicted on the sculptural panels represents the motto of Southend-on-Sea ‘Per Mare Per Ecclesiam’ (Through the Sea Through the Church) and the city’s coat of arms.

The north-east facing panel depicts the city’s coat of arms over a battered plinth: from the bottom there is a trefoil (the emblem of the Holy Trinity, representing the parish church of Southchurch), an anchor (the emblem of St Clement, the Patron Saint of Leigh) and a grid iron (the emblem of St Lawrence, the Patron Saint of Eastwood) either side of a vase of lilies in a triangular surround (the emblem of the Virgin, representing the parish of St Mary, Prittlewell). The panel has a rectangular cap with margined ornament, seemingly depicting a ship’s mast reflected in the water below (a ship’s mast features on the mural crown of the city’s coat of arms). The decoration on the inward face is near identical. The south-facing panel has a bearded religious figure on its outward face, possibly wearing a mitre and possibly representing St Clement, and a hooded monk-like figure on its inward face (likely representing the Cluniac Priory of St Mary, Prittlewell). Each is depicted within a decorative frame, with a stylised face, hand and staff in relief, and their cloak and mitre or hood are represented by blank space. The west-facing panel has a fishman in medieval dress on its outward and inward faces (representing Leigh Port); the fisherman’s net trails along the north side into the water of the round pool.

The round pool is constructed of concrete and its parapet and exterior wall are faced in brown brick.