Object Details

James Burton Memorial Drinking Fountain

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Location
Makers
General Information
Classification
Object Parts
Object Condition
History
References
Photographs


Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright for Photograph:

Creative Commons

Location

Street:Quarry Hill
Town:St. Leonards on Sea
Parish:Hastings
Council:Hastings Borough Council
County:East Sussex
Postcode:TN38
Location on Google Map
Object setting:Garden
Access is:Private
Location note:In the garden of Gloucester Lodge but clearly visible from path in St. Leonards Gardens.
In the AZ book:East Sussex
Page:127
Grid reference:H7
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.

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Makers


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General Information

Commissioned by: Emily and Helen Wood, granddaughters of James Burton
Construction period:1880
Installation date:1880
Work is:Extant
Owner custodian:Owner of Gloucester Lodge.
Object listing:Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them
Description:A short red granite obelisk with a rounded head, standing on a plinth with a semi-circular basin in front of it and a fountain pipe above the plinth. Towards the head of the obelisk was a bronze cameo of Burton's profile.
Inscription:South face, inset lead letters:

JAMES BURTON
FOUNDER OF ST. LEONARDS
1828
BORN 1761, DIED 1837

North face, inset lead letters:

THESE GARDENS FORMED
1829
WERE DEDICATED TO THE PUBLIC
BY THE BOROUGH AUTHORITIES
1880
MAINLY THROUGH THE ACTION OF
JAMES BIRKETT

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Classification

Categories:Functional, Free Standing, Commemorative, Sculptural
Object type1:Sculpture
Object type2:Shaft
     Object subtype1:Obelisk
Object type3:Fountain
     Object subtype1:Obelisk
Subject type1:Portrait
Subject type2:Figurative
     Subject subtype1:Head

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Object Parts

Part 1:Drinking fountain / obelisk
     Material:Red granite
     Height (cm):215
     Width (cm):115
     Depth (cm):165
Part 2:Stepped base
     Material:Granite
     Height (cm):50
     Width (cm):240
     Depth (cm):280

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Object Condition

Overall condition:Fair
Risk assessment:At risk
Condition 1 of type:Surface
     Condition 1: Biological growth
     More details:Biological growth particularly around base. Fountain is surrounded by quite dense shrubbery.
Condition 2 of type:Structural
     Condition 1: Cracks, splits, breaks, holes
     Condition 2: Broken or missing parts
     More details:Chips to the granite around the top of the bowl. Cup and bronze tap/spout missing. The letter 'D' is missing from 'LEONARDS'.
Condition 3 of type:Vandalism
     Condition 1: Structural damage
     More details:The bronze portrait relief of Burton was vandalised and stolen around 2001 and was eventually reacquired at some expense by the present owner of the house. He has this in safe keeping inside the house. The local council had said that they would cast the original and replace it with a replica but this has not been done.
Date of on-site inspection:25/01/2008

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History

History:'The monument was made for the Misses Woods, the granddaughters of James Burton, and was intended to commemorate the purchase for the public, of the St. Leonards Public Gardens, Maze Hill, partly from private and partly from public money. The Mayor and Corporation took affront at the inscription, and refused to accept the memorial, whereupon it was erected by the ladies in the garden of Gloucester Lodge, which they then owned, at the top of the Gardens. A subsequent offer of the fountain, coupled with the removal of the name James Birkett, was also refused. His name is surrounded with an incised line. He was an eminent Victorian solicitor, who retired to Maze Hill, St. Leonards, in 1864, where he died in 1891. Gloucester Lodge was built by James Burton and called after Princess Sophia of Gloucester, who lived in it for some time in the days when the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria were living in a house on the Marina (now number 67, the Nursing Home)…The house is now occupied by Dr. Walther.'
('Notes and Queries')

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References

Source 1 :
     Title:'Notes and Queries'
     Type:Journal
     Page:285
     Publisher:Oxford University Press. London.

Source 2 :
     Title:'Statues and Memorials in Hastings and St. Leonards: a report on condition and conservation options'
     Type:Archive
     Author:Dinsmore, Jennifer.
     Location:Hastings Borough Council
     Page:38
     Publisher:Hastings Museum and Art Gallery


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Photographs





Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons




Author: Anthony McIntosh
Copyright: Creative Commons

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