Gurney Memorial Drinking Fountain

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 11/12/2020

TQ 3884 6/20

STRATFORD E15 BROADWAY (north side) Gurney Memorial Drinking Fountain

8.6.78

II

Drinking Fountain 1861: J Bell. Tapering granite obelisk with pointed head on granite plinth bearing quadrant basins. Inscribed 'In Remembrance of Samuel Gurney'. Four cast-iron lamp columns with later lanterns stand on four granite plinths at each corner. Samuel Gurney (1786-1856) was a banker and philanthropist from an influential family of English Quakers who resided for most of his life just outside Stratford. He was a partner in the Norwich banking firm of Overand, Gurney & Co, which became the largest discounting house in the world. Gurney was an advocate of penal reform (the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry was his sister) and an anti-slavery campaigner. He was also a noted philanthropist, supporting educational charities and gifting money to the poor, as well as supporting local charitable initiatives.

Listing NGR: TQ3891084347