Fountain No.3

The fountain is a cast iron pillar drinking water fountain installed between 1920 and 1939 to serve a small development of timber holiday chalets, a type of resort once common in seaside areas but now increasingly rare. Its group value stems from its survival in its original setting, making it a good example of such fountains.

The fountain is located to the north-east of the green at Andrew’s Shorefield, Groomsport. It is constructed entirely of cast iron, featuring a fluted column topped with a cap and acorn finial. A plain spout is positioned on one side, with a tap on the left when viewed from the road. There is no bucket bracket at the base, and no evidence that one was ever present. An inscription in raised letters, "GLENFIELD & KENNEDY LD KILMARNOCK", appears near the top of the column, while the plinth is inscribed with "GLENFIELD".

The stretch of coast to the east of Groomsport began to develop as a resort area in the late 1920s, with caravan parks and chalets at Andrew’s Shorefield first depicted on the 1939 Ordnance Survey map. The fountain was cast by Glenfield & Kennedy Ltd. of Kilmarnock, a company founded by Thomas Kennedy, who had previously invented a water meter patented in 1852, subsequently evolving into a large valve and hydraulic engineering business. The company’s formation and growth involved a merger of “The Kennedy Patent Water Meter Co. Ltd.” and The Glenfield Co. Ltd. in 1899.