Gas Lantern, Drinking Fountain And Horse Trough

The gas lantern, drinking fountain, and horse trough is a piece of street furniture from 1902, made of cast iron and produced in Coalbrookdale for T. C. Head, an ironmonger in Somerton. It features a central square plan plinth with fluted corner pilasters topped with Egyptian-style knobs. The structure has semi-circular arched recesses that house lion's head waterspouts, with a bowl for the drinking fountain located on the east face. Above the fountain, there are female sphinx-type figurines on a central post, which also has ladder stops and supports a facetted glass globe lamp, with the gas fittings still intact. On the north and south faces, there are two horse troughs, which were planted in June 1984, and each has end overflow bowls for dogs. This installation was erected to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII on August 9th, 1902, and is noted for being an unusual and well-preserved example of street furniture.