Victoria 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: | Old Steine |
| Town: | Brighton |
| Parish: | Brighton |
| Council: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN1 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Garden |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | Steine Gardens |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 162 |
| Grid reference: | F8 |
| 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: | TQ3104 |
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Makers
| Name : | Amon Henry Wilds |
| Role: | Architect |
| Company/Group : | Eagle Foundry, Gloucester Road, Brighton |
| Role: | Foundry |
| Name : | W. Pepper (the elder) |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | John Cordy Burrows |
| Commissioned also by: | Public subscription |
| Construction period: | 1846 |
| Unveiling date: | 24/05/1846 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| Object listing: | Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them |
| Listing date: | 13/10/1952 |
| Description: | Cast-iron pool with egg-and-dart mouldings to the rim. In the pool stands a base of Sarsen stones that were found by workmen in the Steine in 1823, on which rest 3 intertwined hollow dolphins, with pumps inside them, supporting a cast-iron basin; a third basin and column were re-instated following restoration of the fountain in 1990. The dolphin figures were subsequently adopted as the Brighton Coat of Arms, The surrounding area of the Steine, was landscaped into public gardens for the erection of the fountain. Russian guns, captured during the Crimean War, were displayed in the fountain enclosure for a time (1). |
| Iconographical description: | The dolphins symbolise Brighton in the city coat of arms |
| Signatures: | On base of basin, south side:
A.H. WILDS ARCHITECT |
| Inscription: | TO COMMEMORATE THE VISIT OF H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES PRESIDENT OF THE FOUNTAIN SOCIETY ON 25TH MAY 1995 TO MARK THE RESTORATION OF THE VICTORIA FOUNTAIN WITH FUNDING BY BRIGHTON COUNCIL AND GRANT AID FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE Metal plaque on basin, south side: VICTORIA FOUNTAIN RESTORED 1994 BY DOROTHEA LTD BUXTON DERBYSHIRE Tel 0298 79121 Granite, chequered plaque in front of base, north side: FOUNTAIN INTERNATIONAL PROMOTING THE HEALING OF PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES USING SPIRITUAL AND EARTH ENERGIES. FOUNDED HERE ON ST. MICHAELS DAY 1981 |
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Classification
| Categories: | Sculptural, Commemorative, Free Standing, Composite, Animal |
| Object type1: | Sculpture |
| Object type2: | Fountain |
| Object subtype1: | Ornamental Fountain |
| Subject type1: | Figurative |
| Subject subtype1: | Group |
| Subject type2: | Allegorical |
| Subject subtype1: | Group |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Sculpture |
| Material: | Cast iron |
| Height (cm): | 975 |
| Part 2: | Base |
| Material: | Sarsen stones found in 1823 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Structural |
| More details: | Fountain restored in 1995 |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 19/04/2007 |
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History
| History: | After the Brighton Town Commissioners rejected the idea of erecting a fountain to honour the new Queen’s accession in 1837, a local surgeon, John Cordy Burrows, placed a private commission with Amon Wilds, who was responsible for much of Brighton and Hove’s finest Regency architecture. With the aid of a public subscription of £1,100, augmented by the proceeds of a night at the theatre, a concert at the Town Hall and a Grand Fancy Bazaar, the fountain was built in 1846 and unveiled to mark the Queen’s 27th birthday. Burrows was mayor of Brighton three times and knighted in 1873; his own statue stands at the southern edge of the Steine Gardens (2).
The Sarsen stones, blocks of grey sandstone possible deposited by glaciers, incorporated into the base of the fountain, were dug up by workmen digging a trench for a new gas main and it is thought that the name Steine, from the Scandinavian for ‘place of stones’, derives form their discovery (3). The water from the fountain can be thrown up to between 20 and 30 feet and the reservoir at the bottom was originally filled with water lilies and gold fish. The inauguration of the fountain was marked with great ceremony. The proceedings were launched by a royal salute fired from the Pier Head at noon, the same time as the fountain was turned on. Specially commissioned music, including Fountain Quadrilles by Charles Coote, Burrows’s son-in-law, was played .Local shops and businesses closed at 3pm for the celebratory Fete Champetre in the Royal Gardens, which concluded with fireworks (4). The fountain quickly became a local landmark with coloured prints available at local booksellers (5). Prince Charles’s visit to the Steine to unveil the plaque to commemorate the restoration of the fountain in 1995 provoked a security alert when it became the focus of a protest about live animal exports from nearby Shoreham Harbour (6). Notes (1) Ford, J. and J.,Images of Brighton, Saint Helena Press, Richmond, 1981, p.37. (2) Carder, T., The Encyclopaedia of Brighton, East Susex County Libraries, Lewes, 1990, entry 144. (3) A Guide to the Buildings of Brighton, School of Architecture and Interior Design, Brighton Polytechnic, nd.p.40. (4) Brighton Gazette, May 28th, 1846. (5) Brighton Herald, May 23rd, 1846. (6) Evening Argus, Brighton, May25th, 1995. |
| Hard archive file: | No |
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References
| Source 1 : | |
| Title: | 'Encyclopaedia OF Brighton' |
| Type: | Book |
| Author: | Carder, Timothy |
| Date: | 00/00/1990 |
| Publisher: | East Sussex County Libraries. Lewes. |
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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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