Dyce Drinking Fountain

963/0/10166 05-OCT-05

STREATHAM GREEN Dyce Drinking Fountain

II

Drinking fountain. 1862. William Dyce R.A. (1806-1864). Alternating bands of Portland stone and red sandstone, with mouldings in Portland stone and a marble basin. Steeply pitched gabled pediment flanked by gabled end piers. The moulding on the pediment includes a band of five-petalled floral ornaments. In the centre of the pediment is a circle divided by four arcs, in the middle of which is an eight-petalled stylised flower inlaid with coloured hard-stone. Beneath the circle is an arched band with gothic script in relief reading, 'For I will pour water on him that is thirsty'. Beneath this band is a trefoil headed arch, the recess of which is inlaid with a green glazed tile mosaic, with a metal cross and water spout in the centre. Semi-circular bowl made of marble, with scalloped base, supported on a half-octagonal, panelled pedestal on a half-octagonal base. Oblong slab of granite in front of the fountain used as a step to reach the bowl.

The rear of the fountain is relatively plain, with alternating bands of Portland stone and red sandstone, with a central stone block with chamfered edges, which contains the mechanics of the fountain. The upper most section of this block is inscribed:

ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION A.D. 1862

The names beneath this are quite eroded, but read:

The Rev J.R. Nicoll, M.A. Rector Sidney Churchill W. Dyce R.A. } churchwardens

A band with four-petalled floral decoration runs beneath the pediment, with a stylised circular rose design beneath.

HISTORY: The Dyce fountain was erected in 1862 to the designs of William Dyce, at the expense of local parishioners in thanks for the works he had undertaken on the new chancel at St Leonard's Church, Streatham. William Dyce was one of the most important painters of mid C19 England. He was also a devout Anglo-Catholic and proponent of the Gothic Revival movement. Dyce's best known works were Titian's First Essay in Colour (1857), Pegwell Bay (1860) and George Herbert at Bemerton (1861).

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: The Dyce drinking fountain, Streatham Green is an attractive piece of street furniture designed in the Gothic Revival style, which has the added interest of having been designed by and in gratitude to the important Victorian artist William Dyce, for his work on the nearby St Leonard's Church. The interest of this structure is further heightened by the fact that Dyce was a resident of Streatham and church warden of St Leonard's in whose graveyard he is buried.