Tylor Drinking Trough and Fountain
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | West Street |
| Town: | Mayfield |
| Parish: | Mayfield |
| Council: | Wealden District Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | TN20 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Road or Wayside |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | Junction of West Street and High Street, outside Crossways House |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 38 |
| Grid reference: | D8 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
| OS Reference: | TQ5926 |
back to top | |
Makers
| Name : | Colonel Currie |
back to top | |
General Information
| Commissioned by: | Public subscription |
| Installation date: | 1901 |
| Unveiling date: | 15/01/1902 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Object listing: | Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them |
| Building listing: | II |
| Description: | Granite rectangular drinking trough with rounded edges on granite base. A drinking fountain with bowl is on the outer north face. The trough is planted with flowers. |
| Inscription: | ERECTED BY SUBSCRIPTIONS IN MEMORY OF J.J. TYLOR ESQ. OF MAYFIELD 1901 |
back to top | |
Classification
| Categories: | Functional, Roadside / Wayside, Free Standing, Commemorative |
| Object type1: | Fountain |
| Object subtype1: | Drinking Trough |
| Subject type1: | Non-figurative |
back to top | |
Object Parts
| Part 1: | Base |
| Material: | Grey granite |
| Height (cm): | 45 |
| Width (cm): | 165 |
| Depth (cm): | 65 |
| Part 2: | Trough and bowl |
| Material: | Grey granite |
| Height (cm): | 85 |
| Width (cm): | 210 |
| Depth (cm): | 65 |
back to top | |
Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Structural |
| Condition 1: | Broken or missing parts |
| More details: | Drinking cup and tap missing, chain broken. Something appears to have been removed from the top of the fountain as there is evidence of securing holes. |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 06/07/2007 |
back to top | |
History
| History: | ‘Mr. Tylor died while abroad on Good Friday that year [1901], and it was several weeks before the Courier was able to publish a rather ‘sketchy’ obituary. The village, it reported, had lost a very good friend:
“Had it not been for his energy and perseverance Mayfield would have undoubtedly now be without its waterworks. In the cricket club Mr Tylor was much interested. He helped to start the carving school and provided the cottage for it at his own expense from 1891 to 1899, when it was moved to larger premises. His egyptological work has been reviewed at length by The Times and other newspapers.” The carving school had become a recognised village institution and minor industry when its benefactor died, and about that time it was commissioned to execute carvings on the new choir stalls which were then being installed in St. Dunstan’s Church. A fine example of the craftsmanship of the students, aged from 14 to 40, who attended classes after their normal day’s work, is the chancel screen in Arlington parish church. It was fitting that two months later a meeting was held at Stone Court in the High Street, where the carving school was established, to consider a proposed memorial to Mr Tylor. There were two suggestions: “an oak seat to be placed in the High Street near the Convent wall, and a drinking fountain in the centre of the village.” In the best British tradition, a small committee was appointed to make further inquiries, and a further meeting was arranged for August 14. The Courier commented: “It is generally felt that the late Mr Tylor’s many years’ keen interest in Mayfield’s welfare should have some public recognition, and it is therefore hoped that the meeting will be thoroughly representative.” Again, in the best British tradition, it was apparently nothing of the sort. It was “unfortunately thinly attended, although public opinion is unanimous in support of the proposition.” The committee recommended that a granite fountain and trough be erected at a cost of £50, and as regards the water supply they had every reason to hope that the parish council and the water company would give every assistance. It was considered that the success of the scheme depended on a free supply of water. The matter was thoroughly discussed, and as it was felt that there would be no difficulty in raising the money, the scheme was given conditional approval, especially as half the amount had already been either given or promised. The villagers agreed that every section of the community should be given the opportunity to subscribe “in order that the testimonial should be of a really representative character, and arrangements were made to bring the matter before the various friendly and other societies in which the late Mr Tylor always showed a great and personal practical sympathy”. Designs submitted by Colonel Currie apparently gave “every satisfaction”, and the only question now remaining was where to site the fountain and trough. This was left in the hands of a sub-committee which could hardly have been smaller, consisting as it did of Messrs Moon and Eldridge, who had the task of preparing a report. In the meantime, the parish council agreed to pay £2.2s (£2.10) annually for the water supply. When a further public meeting was held in October the chairman, Dr. C.F. Hutchinson, reported that £48 of the required £50 had been subscribed, and the fountain and trough would be installed near West Cottage at the bottom of the High Street, and would be suitably inscribed. There were no further delays, and on January 17, 1902, the Courier was able to report: “On Wednesday last the ceremony of opening the drinking trough and fountain erected to the memory of the late Mr. J.J. Tylor took place at three o’clock in the afternoon when several hundreds of people gathered together to witness the same. “Dr C.F. Hutchinson, J.P. mentioned that the late Mr Tylor had been mainly instrumental in starting the carving school. Probably few knew that for eight years he paid the rent and taxes of the house where the school was carried on. Dr Hutchinson also mentioned that the village of Mayfield is known far and wide because of its carving, so it might interest some to know that during the past year the school had done £67 worth more of orders from all over the country than in any previous years. “After the uncovering of the fountain by Mr. T.F. Eldridge the ceremony of opening the same was performed by Mr Alfred Tylor, son of the late Mr J.J. Tylor, by turning on the tap, which at once allowed the water to supply the trough and fountain. After this the hymn O God, Our Help in Ages Past was sung, the Lord’s Prayer said, and an appropriate prayer offered by the Vicar. “Dr Hutchinson was asked to speak the following words from Mrs Tylor: “That on the opening of the village memorial, which had been so kindly subscribed for and put up in our lovely village by the inhabitants to the beloved memory of her son, a great acknowledgement is indeed due to the gentleman who first originated it, to the committee who had so kindly carried it out, and to the clergy and the parish council who have helped so kindly. “For many years of failing health my beloved son was always planning different things for the good of the village of which he was an inhabitant. I am sure that the memorial so kindly dedicated to him would be exactly what he would have most valued. Although his grave is far away in the South he seems to have come back to us in the lasting remembrance provided by our dear friends and neighbours in Mayfield, while far away 'those angel faces smile which we have loved long since and lost awhile'. ''Mrs Tylor, the widow, was the first to drink of the fountain. At the conclusion of the ceremony the National Anthem was sung. Mrs Tylor (mother) invited the whole of the crowd to tea at the Middle House.'' The ''lasting remembrance'' of a popular benefactor provided by the villagers more than 90 years ago would be a good deal more permanent if the inscription could be made more legible - and that is something that the parish council, which helped in the beginning, might care to consider.' (Kent and Sussex Courier 30.08.1993)(lines from sonnet by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik (1826-1887) |
back to top | |
References
| Source 1 : | |
| Title: | Kent and Sussex Courier |
| Type: | Newspaper |
| Author: | Sellens, Frank. |
| Publisher: | Kent and Sussex Courier. |
back to top | |
Photographs
Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Postcard Copyright: Mayfield Historical Society |
 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
back to top | |