Drinking Fountain

The drinking fountain, dated 1859, is located in Houndwell Park and features a granite inscription. It is constructed from stone and consists of a tapering square pillar made of small blocks of rusticated ashlar. The pillar has a cornice and pediments on all four sides, topped with a ball finial. At the base, there are stone seats on all four sides, and two iron lions' head masks are present. This fountain was presented by the Victorian philanthropist Charles Pierre Melly, who was born in 1829 and died in 1888. Melly was responsible for erecting the first free public drinking fountains in England in Liverpool in 1854, an initiative that inspired similar projects across towns and cities in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Notably, London's first fountain was established five years later in 1859. Melly was also an advocate for physical fitness and played a role in promoting the early Olympic movement in Britain.