James Burton Memorial Drinking 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: | 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: | 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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