Building record MDR10027 - Alcove with Pillar Fountain, High Street, Ticknall

Alcove with pillar fountain, High Street, Ticknall, built c1914. One of three wells in Ticknall that received water from springs some distance away and were used for fresh clean water for the local residents prior to 1914 when mains water was connected to standpipes in the village. (1) During 1913, Sir Vauncey Harpur-Crewe initiated a scheme to modernise Ticknall’s water system and so a number of stand pipes gravity fed from a reservoir and served by a wind pump were commissioned, supplied by Glenfield & Kenny Ltd. The water was mainly sourced from a stream in the fields west of Spring Cottage. To tap this source, a substantial pump was sunk in the area close by in 1914, though there was a delay to the implementation of the scheme as the carter employed to transport he equipment from Melbourne was called up on the outbreak of World War I. The fountains or pumps used to distribute the water across Ticknall were shaped as lion motifs, with the spout emerging from the lion’s mouth. Footings of the windpump can also be seen today along with the original well, still in situ. (2) Previously Grade II Listed, uncertain when revoked: List description: 'Alcove, enclosing pillar fountain. Early 19th century alcove structure, of rubble sandstone with ashlar dressings. Keyed round-arched opening flanked by pilaster strips. Flat top. Half-domed interior with circa 1914 pillar fountain manufactured by Glenfield and Kennedy of Kilmarnock, and installed at the instruction of Sir Vauncay Harpur-Crewe at Calke Abbey. Fluted cast iron cylindrical column with moulded dome top incorporating tap lever handle. Lion mask surround to tap outlet and integral bucket platform to base. The design, apparently of late 19th century date is referred to as 'Kennedy's patent, self closing, anti-freezing Pillar Fountain'. The fountain forms part of a fresh-water supply system for the village of Ticknall, (itself part of the Harpur Crewe Estate), of which 16 other examples (q.v.) survive. The fountains were served by gravity from a reservoir filled with water drawn from a well by wind-pump'. (3)