Drinking Fountain Attached to Church Walls and Railing to Church of St Martin-In-The-Fields is a Grade II listed building in the Westminster local planning authority area, England. First listed on 23 July 1991. Drinking fountain.
Drinking Fountain Attached to Church Walls and Railing to Church of St Martin-In-The-Fields
- WRENN ID
- standing-oriel-heron
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Westminster
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 23 July 1991
- Type
- Drinking fountain
- OS grid reference
- TQ 301 805
- Coordinates
- 51.50869, -0.12598
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The drinking fountain attached to the walls and railings of the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields is a memorial fountain dating from around 1886. It was provided through the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association. Made of granite, the fountain features a plain arch with a battered base, a central round-arched niche for the fountain, and a segmental arched niche at the base for a dog bowl. There is an inscription in memory of William Gilson Humphry, who was the vicar of the parish. The fountain was restored and a replica bronze lion mash spout was installed around 1989.
The Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, founded in 1859 and adding cattle troughs in 1867, aimed to provide free fresh water at a time when it was often easier to obtain ale and spirits than clean water. The association, which was rooted in Christian ideals of water and purity, attracted evangelical Victorian patrons who supported its mission and contributed to its designs.
Local climate
Drinking Fountain Attached to Church Walls and Railing to Church of St Martin-In-The-Fields 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.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings
- K6 Telephone Kiosk
- John Law Baker Memorial Drinking Fountain (St Martin in the Fields Churchyard)
- Church of St Martin in the Fields
- Churchyard Walls and Railings Surrounding Church of St Martin in the Fields on North, South, East and West Sides
- St Martin in the Fields Secondary School
- Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross
- St Martin's Vestry Hall
- South Africa House
- St Martin's Vicarage
- Charing Cross Hotel