Drinking Fountain Opposite Elms Mews

The drinking fountain opposite Elms Mews is a Grade II listed structure, dated 1872, and was provided by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association. It was cleaned and restored around 1989. The fountain is made of pink granite with a grey granite step. It features a battered base and a rectangular column that has a segmental arched niche for the spout and a semi-circular basin. The fountain is topped with cross roofs that create a pediment on each face. Inscribed above the niche is "January 1872," with "J.E.D" in the niche and "Know thyself" beneath the basin. This fountain is a typical example from the Association's catalogue. The Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, which added cattle troughs in 1867, aimed to provide free fresh water to both people and animals at a time when clean water was scarce and often contaminated. The association was supported by evangelical Victorians who associated water with purity of spirit, and while they offered a range of functional designs, some wealthy patrons commissioned their own unique fountains.