Willshire Fountain on Traffic Island is a Grade II listed building in the North Devon local planning authority area, England. Fountain.
Willshire Fountain on Traffic Island
- WRENN ID
- gentle-moulding-pine
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- North Devon
- Constituency
- North Devon MP: Ian Roome (LD)
- Country
- England
- Type
- Fountain
- Address
- Willshire Fountain on Traffic Island, the Square, Barnstaple
- OS grid reference
- SS 559 329
- Coordinates
- 51.07808, -4.0584
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Willshire Fountain is located on a traffic island in Barnstaple and was built between 1876 and 1878, as indicated by an inscription. The fountain is made of concrete and stone, featuring cast-iron cresting. It has a large, round concrete basin with a granite base that includes panels of vermiculated rustication. The shallow bowl sits on a four-sided stone pedestal adorned with pilasters that have delicately carved capitals. The bowl is decorated with four lions' heads that have lead spouts, and around the rim is an inscription that reads: "Erected to record the gift by CS Willshire Esq of the railings enclosing this square during his mayoralty 1876-1878." Originally, the fountain served as the centerpiece of a square, which has since been replaced by the existing roundabout. The fountain is included for its group and historical value.
Local climate
Willshire Fountain on Traffic Island sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,050 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 84% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 94% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 7 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 95% of listed buildings. Of these, 2 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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