Village Pump And Housing

The village pump and housing, built in 1894, is located at the southeast corner of High Street and Station Road in Watton-at-Stone. It was given by Abel Smith of Woodhall Park as a memorial to his son, Lieutenant General P. Smith. The structure features a stone base supporting a cast iron pump, which is adorned with a large bulbous vase design and rich acanthus decoration. The base includes a trough with rounded corners, and the pump has a scotia and torus foot with a cavetto moulded head to the plinth, along with astragals on the necking and rings above a moulded curving spout. The handle attachment is now missing.

The timber housing is designed in a classical style, supported by four posts that resemble stylized, entasized Ionic columns. It features key blocked segmental arches with scrolled brackets at the eaves, which display a continuous band of dedicatory inscription. The roof is styled in a pagoda shape, sweeping outwards, with scrolled iron flourishes at the corners. At the top, there is a small turret with two round-headed timber arches on each side, brattishing to an ogee spirelet, wavy leading, and a ball finial.