Fountains A spring of water, a jet, a structure for supplying drinking water, an ornamental structure with jets, spouts and basins of water. Water flows through the history of gardens with no boundaries of time or culture. At the birth of civilisation in Meso potamia, water and fountains were used extensively in the formal gardens and hieroglyphs in Egyptian tombs show the fountain in enclosed courtyards. From the imperial gardens of China and Japan, to the Persians, Moguls and Moors, the fountains of Al Hambra being the best known, all used the fountain in some form. The Romans with their aqueducts moved water great distances, and from this ready supply the energy was provided for their many fountains. It is their technology of hydraulics, rediscovered in Vetruvius s manuscript in the early 15th Cent ury, which helped Italian engineers to grasp how to raise water with the aid of machinery to high cisterns that would gravity feed water under pressure. This technique then al low ed small bronzes by the likes of Donatello and later Verrocchio, to more or less continually spout water. Prior to this, the spring would have been enhanced to provide power, as one would assume would have been the case in England for the simple 13th Century Medieval stand fountain. The Italian gardens of the latter half of the 16th Century took the use of water in the garden to exuberant heights. Although mostly spring fed, Villa d Este, had its terrace of one hundred fount ains, dragon fountain and many-breasted Diana of the Ephesians, the goddess of Fecundity, issuing water at every turn. The gardens of the Villa Albobrandini, started slightly later in 1598, also boasted cascades, jets and rills, as well as
joke fountains which were subsequently incorporated into the Villa d Este scheme. On the translation around 1580 of Hero of Alexandria s Pneumatica (1st Century A.D.) the wealth of Roman knowledge describing valves, siphons and vacuums helped create water-powered singing birds, organs and even little boys peeing! These squirty jets were designed to catch the unsuspecting visitor as they sat, passed by walls and walked through arches. The 17th Century saw this technology to wet or drench and spout spread throughout Northern Europe, and allowed designers to create ever larger spectacles, as in the case of Salomon de Caus s fountain for Somerset House around 1610, which was some 80 feet in diameter, subsequently moved to Hampton Court in 1655. It is to Versailles that we turn to see the most impressive use of water. After Louis XV saw Nicholas Fouquet s garden in 1661 at Vaux le Vicomte, his envy was so great that he arrested Fouquet and took many of his statues and fountains. He then went on to transform out of all recognition the once mod erate Royal Chateau gardens and park at Versailles. When completed, at the time of Louis XV s death around 50 years later, some 1400 fountains gushed à gueule bée, or full throated, and could be seen from every vista. Drawing water from the Seine the Machine de Marly, with its 14 water wheels, gave the force required. Previously however, due to the lack of pumping power, the King would have had to plan his route to allow fountains to be turned on and then off as he processed. Today we still marvel at the Sun Horses of Apollo and the Fountain of Latona, but one can only imagine the sight of all the fountains working à gueule bée. Versailles, as one might have expected, did not go unnoticed
among the patrons of the great gardens of Europe and America. From Peterhoff to Middleton Place in Charleston, to Chatsworth with its Sea Horse and Triton fountains, the grand formal garden and fountain had arrived. Another leap forward in hydraulics came in 1696 with the publication of Carlo Fonatna s The Most Useful Treatise on Moving Waters. This coincided with the completion in 1703 of a grand cascade at Chatsworth, with the longest cascade completed in the Bridgmanesque landscape at Stanway House in 1730. It is worth noting around this time the Trevi Fountain in Rome was also completed. The change in taste in 18th Century England meant the fountain on a grand scale was not so in fashion the grottos, waterfalls and tranquil lakes were more in vogue in the natural landscapes of Archadia and Capability Brown. The 19th Century brought with it the Industrial Revolution, more technology and new materials. Repton in 1800 reintroduced the fountain to the garden at Harewood House inside a greenhouse. Chatsworth and Stanway competed for the highest gravity-fed jet d eau, the former reaching some 264 feet in 1844, though Stanway now holds this record at over 300 feet. The Great Exhibition in 1851 showcased the cast iron fountains from Handyside and Coalbrookdale, along with Blanchard, Blashfield, and Pulhams (Pulhamite) terracotta creations. Stone as a material was not ignored, with the Atlas Fountain carved in Portland stone by John Thomas being purchased from the Exhibition by the wealthy Seventh Earl of Carlisle for Castle Howard. The end of the 19th Century saw the taste for the extravagant continue, with such fountains as the Fountain of Love by Waldo Storey at Clieveden, circa 1897, and the scandalous
Eros Fountain in Piccadilly by Alfred Gilbert, 1893, alongside Cheltenham s very own Neptune Fountain designed by the Borough Surveyor, Joseph Hall, installed at the same time. With the great social changes of the 20th Century, the fountain played in tune with the tastes and style of the time. The gardens of Jeckell often included an Italianate water feature, and the lead fountains by the Bromsgrove Guild and others provided both for public parks and private gardens. The fountain continues to be the main element in any garden scheme, adding life, movement and the sound of water playing.
The Two Tier Fountain [item 1] An elegant two tier fountain in age patinated artificial stone. Taken from an 18th century original, each bowl having egg and dart carving to the rim, raised upon baluster pedestals with carved foliage. The upper bowl is surmounted by a pineapple finial. Overall width 3 9½ [136 cm] Overall height 8 7 [262 cm] The Decorative Circular Pool Surround [item 2] The circular pool surround having egg and dart decoration. Age patinated artificial stone. External diameter 14 [426 cm] Internal diameter 12 [366 cm] Overall height 8½ [22 cm]
The Circular Pool Paving Surround [item 3] An elegant addition to the circular pool surround in 16 sections, or to use alone. External diameter 15 10 [482 cm] Internal diameter 14 [426 cm] Overall height 2¾ [7 cm]
The Lion Mask Wall Fountain [item 4] A wall fountain in age patinated artificial stone, having arched back plate inset with a lead lion mask spout raised above a D shaped bowl with stepped rectangular base. Overall height 5 [151 cm] Overall width 2 7 [80 cm] Overall Depth 1 8 [51 cm]
The Square Pool Surround [item 5] Age patinated artificial stone. Overall width 8 7 [262 cm] Overall height 11 [28 cm]
The Parterre Pool Surround [item 6] This versatile pool surround has endless design possibilities, squares, rectangles, rills and clover leaves to any size you require. Age patinated artificial stone. Illustration shows standard size. Overall diameter 12 [363.5 cm] Overall height 11 [28 cm]
The Single Tier Fountain [item 7] An elegant fountain in age patinated artificial stone, taken from an 18th century original. The bowl having egg and dart carving to the rim raised upon a baluster pedestal carved with acanthus foliage, with circular foot and square base. The bowl is surmounted by a spout in the form of a pineapple. Overall height 4 1 [125 cm] Overall diameter 2 7½ [80 cm] Square at base 1 6 [45 cm]
The Neptune Wall Fountain [item 8] A large hand carved natural limestone wall fountain having an elegant carved wall plate with central mask of Neptune. The shaped bowl raised upon a step. Overall height 6 5 [196 cm] Overall width 9 8 [295 cm] Overall depth 4 6 [137 cm]
The Neptune Wall Fountain with Grotesque Mask [item 9] A large hand carved natural limestone wall fountain having an elegant carved wall plate with centred lead Grotesque mask. The shaped bowl raised upon a step. Overall height 6 5 [196 cm] Overall width 9 8 [295 cm] Overall depth 4 6 [137 cm]
The Neptune Wall Fountain with Lead Spout [item 10] A large hand carved natural limestone wall fountain having an elegant carved wall plate with centred lead spout mounted on a circular back plate. The shaped bowl raised upon a step. Overall height 6 5 [196 cm] Overall width 9 8 [295 cm] Overall depth 4 6 [137 cm]
The River God Wall Fountain [item 11] An important Verona marble wall mask fountain in the form of a river God surrounded by a pair of dolphins. Overall height 2 11 [89 cm] Overall width 2 8 [81 cm] Overall depth 9 [23 cm]
The Wall Fountain with Dolphins [item 12] An exquisite carved Breccia Pernice marble wall fountain, raised upon a pair of dolphins. Executed in Paonazzetto Marble, the stylised conch shell bowl and ornate back plate decorated with shells, acanthus and lilies. It has at its centre a fine Byzantine lion mask spout in Fantistico Arni Marble. Overall height 5 9½ [177 cm] Overall width 3 3 [100 cm] Overall depth 2 1 [64 cm]
The Onslow Park Wall Fountain with Lead Spout [item 13] A hand carved natural limestone wall fountain, having a lead spout centred to the classical back plate. A bespoke fibreglass liner, tinted to match the stone, plus pump pack, are available. Overall height 5 5 [165 cm] Overall width 4 7 [140 cm] Height of bowl 1 7 [48 cm] Depth of bowl 2 10 [86 cm]
The Onslow Park Wall Fountain with Lead Lion Mask [item 14] A hand carved natural limestone wall fountain having lead lion mask spout centred to the classical back plate. A bespoke fibreglass liner, tinted to match the stone, plus pump pack, are available. Overall height 5 5 [165 cm] Overall width 4 7 [140 cm] Height of bowl 1 7 [48 cm] Overall depth 2 9 [84 cm]