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The Fountain The original fountain was made by Andrew Handyside and erected at its present location in 1849. The fountain we see today is a copy of the original, which was damaged during the mid 20th century, and replaced by the present reconstruction during the 1990s refurbishment programme.
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Photo approximately 1910 The fountain's water jet appears to be quite high in this photo, note the gardeners are busy tidying up the grass and a man in a straw boater hat, leaning on a walking stick, is standing on the grass. He must be the head gardener, or someone of very high social standing as the gardeners would not have tolerated such behaviour from a member of the public. |
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This photo shows a view of the fountain looking across the main broad walk to the Florentine Boar (the Boar is behind the photographer), looking north/west. Possibly the end of the 19th century to the turn of the 20th century, a number of nannies with children can be seen, notice the old style of the seats and the hooped railings, for which the Arboretum was best known. |
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A photo entitled "A Sylvan Beauty" looking south west, the Broad Walk terminates at the Florentine Boar. This photo was taken early in the 20th century, 1914-1920, later in 1923, a statue of Henry Royce was erected on the left of the path to the left of the fountain. |
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The girl with the baby in a pram may have been a nanny, the costume suggests that the scene could be dated to around 1900 - 1910, the Boar can just be seen at the end of the Broad Walk to the right. |
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A group of schoolchildren gathering around the fountain, c 1904 The children appear to be wearing school uniforms, the adult woman is possible a schoolmistress supervising the group. |
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| This photo was taken from about the same position as the above, during the early 1970s, by which time the top section of the fountain had disappeared, the Statue of Sir Henry Royce was still in place and goldfish would have been living in the fountain's pond. | |
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Nannies with their children sitting peacefully on the east west walk
The elderly gent appears to be taking a much needed rest. The absence of leaf cover and the warm clothing being worn, suggests this photo was taken during the winter or early spring - approximately 1915 |
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This view is looking towards Madeley Street (Bishops Lodge, 2 Madeley Street is visible in the background) The tall section of the fountain is missing, a peak-capped Park Keeper is looking towards the photographer (standing with his back to Grove Street) and a group of men are reading the papers, possibly the Sunday papers. |
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The Fountain, "Royal Statue"? |
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| The photo above is a postcard circa 1925. The fountain and Royce's statue are visible here. Note the error in the naming of the statue! The photographer must have written "Fountain, Royce Statue" but this has been misread as "Royal Statue" by the post card manufacturer. Photo courtesy of Photo Ark | |
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The Refurbished Fountain The statue of Sir Henry Royce used to stand beyond the railings to the centre of the photograph. The high railings were installed to protect the fountain from vandalism. The barriers on the grass are in place whilst CCTV cameras were being installed. The high railings will be replaced by smaller railings when the Arboretum is protected by night time lock-up and CCTV cameras. |
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The fountain C 1860 during a freezing winter (Richard Keene) |
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The frozen fountain attracts the attention of local people. Photo by Richard Keene. C1860 courtesy of Derek Palmer |
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