Anderson Fountain, Anderson Park, Circular Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry

Anderson Fountain is a cast-iron canopy constituting the remains of a former fountain, erected in 1911 in memory of Hugh Anderson and located in Anderson Park to the north side of Circular Road in Coleraine town centre. It was designed by William James Given, the town surveyor for Coleraine, and cast by Messrs Walter McFarlane of Glasgow.

The canopy sits on a polygonal three-stage concrete plinth and comprises a pierced cast-iron cupola supported by cusped semi-circular arches on eight fluted columns with cast-iron console brackets topped by grotesques. The arches are surmounted by medallions bearing heron motifs or inscribed plaques, with rope mouldings over the arches and around the medallions. The heron medallions read "THE PAVEMENT" above and "KEEP" and "DRY" to left and right respectively.

Four inscribed plaques document the history of the park and fountain. The plaque to the west records a gift from the Irish Society of London of three roods and ten perches of land and £250 towards the cost of equipment. The plaque to the northwest records a gift from William Thomas Church Esq of six acres and seventeen perches of land. The plaque to the east states that the fountain was erected by the Urban District Council of Coleraine in the year of the coronation of King George V in 1911, naming Frederick W Crawford as chairman and William Henry as town clerk. The plaque to the southeast commemorates Hugh Anderson Esq J.P., who died on 27th January 1899, noting that he bequeathed £3,000 to the park and £2,000 in trust for the poor of Coleraine.

Hugh Anderson was a wine and spirit merchant and the wealthiest citizen of Coleraine. Rendered extremely wealthy in his twenties by an inheritance from his uncle, he continued the family business and became a prominent local figure, serving as chairman of the Town Commissioners, chairman of the Harbour Board, High Sheriff of County Londonderry, and a member of the Grand Jury and the consulting board of the Belfast Banking Company. He was a Liberal Unionist, member of the congregation at New Row, Provincial Grand Treasurer of his Masonic lodge, and member of two local Orange lodges. He gave generously to charities including the Masonic Orphan Schools and died at the age of 57. Newspaper reports claim his funeral was the largest procession ever witnessed in Coleraine, with all businesses along the route closing.

Anderson Park was completed in 1904 at a cost of £3,042 following Hugh Anderson's bequest. The fountain first appears on the fourth edition Ordnance Survey map of 1923. The structure was listed in 1977 but subsequently removed from the park for some time due to vandalism. When it was replaced around 2004, the foundation was moved a few metres and repainted in the colours of Coleraine Borough Council, Oxford blue and gold. The central drinking fountain has been removed in recent years, though the ornamental canopy remains. The ironwork of the canopy is intricate and highly accomplished, demonstrating significant artistic and craft value and remaining of considerable social importance and local interest despite the loss of the fountain itself.