Roadside Horse Trough And Drinking Fountain

The roadside horse trough and drinking fountain, dated 1894, were erected in memory of William Coston Oswell, who built the nearby Norman Shaw house, Hillside. Constructed from polished grey limestone with some glazed red brick, both features are set into a coursed sandstone wall that supports the hillside. They are positioned alongside the road up Groombridge Hill, facing south. The trough is supported by two piers of glazed brick and is in front of a brick back piece that rises to the rim, topped with a large limestone panel featuring a curvilinear shape. In the center, a vesica-shaped panel is inscribed with the date 1894 and an inscription in capital letters commemorating William Coston Oswell. There are stone shelves on each side of the trough. To the right is the drinking fountain, designed in the style of an ecclesiastical piscina, featuring a trefoil-headed niche and a projecting bowl on a moulded base. This horse trough and drinking fountain are part of an important group of listed buildings in the vicinity of Groombridge Place and Old Groombridge village.