Fountain in Vivary Park is a Grade II listed building in the Somerset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 July 1975. Fountain.
Fountain in Vivary Park
- WRENN ID
- tilted-slate-brook
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Somerset
- Constituency
- Taunton and Wellington MP: Gideon Amos (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 4 July 1975
- Type
- Fountain
- Address
- Fountain in Vivary Park, Taunton
- OS grid reference
- ST 227 240
- Coordinates
- 51.01089, -3.1022
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The fountain in Vivary Park is a richly detailed structure located in the center of the park. It features a large circular basin with a central fountain, which was erected in memory of Queen Victoria and completed in 1907. The base is made of colourwashed stone with cast iron details. The central fountain has clustered columns at the base, with four attached shafts and brackets that support lively putti riding on the backs of grotesque dolphins with foliated tails. There are well-crafted curved reliefs depicting rural scenes on the curved facets of the central shaft. Above this, a large circular bowl has a crested outer rim and bullrush details on the underside. Surrounding the central shaft are daffodils and four pelicans with outstretched wings, from which the fountain spouts water. At the top, a smaller bowl with scallop shell detail supports a robed female figure holding a torch raised in her left hand. The outer rim of the main basin has decorative rosettes and a cartouche that includes details of the dedication.
The listed buildings in Vivary Park and Mount Street form a group with the School, Unitarian Chapel, the Lawn, and Mary Street House in Mary Street, as well as Wilton House in Hammets Walk and Nos 1 to 14 (consecutive) Upper High Street.
Local climate
Fountain in Vivary Park receives an average of 820 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 52% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 57% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 32 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 58% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 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.
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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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