McClelland Fountain, Banbridge District Council, Civic Building, Downshire Road, Banbridge, County Down, BT32 3JY

McClelland Fountain

A polished granite and stone memorial fountain commemorating Dr Robert Brown McClelland, M.D. J.P., erected in 1906 and currently sited in front of the Civic Buildings on the south side of Downshire Road in Banbridge, County Down.

The fountain stands on an octagonal concrete plinth with a granite base featuring a carved black granite trefoil band and a well-shaped central bowl. The inscription reads "ERECTED IN LOVING MEMORY OF ROBERT BROWN MCCLELLAND M.D. J.J.P. BY HIS FAMILY 1906". The shaft comprises four clustered polished black granite columns with ornately carved stone capitals and a polygonal cap surmounted by a stone finial.

Dr Robert Brown McClelland was a physician, surgeon and justice of the peace born in County Down and trained at Glasgow University. He lived and practised in a house on Bridge Street that later became the premises of the Belfast Bank. A relatively wealthy man, he died in 1901 at the age of 73, leaving a fortune of nearly £7,000 and property in Newry Street, Edenderry and Ballymoney. He was married with two children, including his son Arthur Wellesley McClelland, also a doctor. In his will, Dr McClelland bequeathed all his medical and surgical books, bottles, drugs and instruments to his son. Local memory in the mid-1960s recalled the doctor's musical ability and his daily practice of taking drives in a horse and outside car.

The fountain was originally erected on Downshire Bridge in 1906. In 1965, following concerns about increasing traffic volumes, Banbridge Urban Council commissioned engineer and surveyor J G McKinney to prepare a removal scheme to widen the bridge and improve motorist visibility. The fountain was then relocated to the entrance of Reilly Park, where it remained for several years. In June 1989, following the opening of the new Neo-Georgian Civic Building in 1982, the fountain was moved again to a raised platform in front of the District Council offices, giving it a more prominent public position. This relocation was welcomed by the community, as the fountain had previously been targeted by vandals.