Drinking Fountain is a Grade II listed building in the Camden local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 February 1998. Drinking fountain.

Drinking Fountain

WRENN ID
upper-storey-heath
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Camden
Constituency
Holborn and St Pancras
Country
England
Date first listed
11 February 1998
Type
Drinking fountain
Address
Drinking Fountain, Guilford Place
OS grid reference
TQ 305 821
Coordinates
51.52347, -0.11941
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The drinking fountain, located on a traffic island, was built in 1870 and designed by architect Henry Darbishire to commemorate the mother of the Misses Whiting. It features a granite base with a stone figure. The structure includes a raised circular plinth with two block steps leading to a circular base made of rough-hewn granite blocks. At the base, there is a round-arched niche for an animal trough, which supports a projecting semicircular basin and a smooth granite drum. Atop the drum is a sculptured figure of the Woman of Samaria, depicted in loose robes and a scarf, kneeling on her left knee to fill a water jar. The drinking fountain is part of a civic group that includes the cast-iron railings surrounding the public conveniences located behind it.

Local climate

Drinking Fountain sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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