Horse troughs and village pumps: five old survivors and a Soho replica

The Cornhill pump

Iron Cornhill water pump beside the Royal Exchange in London — Cornhill water pump. Picture: It's No Game, CC BY 2.0

Start at the pump on Cornhill, on the pavement south of the Royal Exchange. Historic England dates its cast iron body to 1799 and records long inscriptions on its sides. It also describes a granite trough as probably a later addition, but that old listing cannot tell us whether the trough is still beside it. Make the writing the children's first job. Aoife found the low water outlet in our picture before Cian found the date, and our appointed map holder has lodged a complaint. The older pump is a better start than six identical photographs of horse basins.

The pump is on the public pavement south of the Royal Exchange. Looking from the pavement needs no ticket.

Who drank at Smithfield

Long double cattle trough at West Smithfield in London — West Smithfield double trough. Picture: DAVID HOLT, CC BY-SA 2.0

Walk on to West Smithfield for the double cattle trough. This one has a guest list. Historic England says it was erected on 8 May 1881 in memory of Philip Twells, a Member of Parliament for the City of London. There is a bowl for a person at one end and a smaller trough for dogs underneath. The other human bowl has been removed. Cattle and horses had the long granite basins beside the meat market. Aoife wanted to assign every member of our family a drinking level. I refused to say where Dave belonged.

Historic England places the trough on West Smithfield. You can see it from the street without booking.

The pump that fooled nobody

Memorial water pump on Broadwick Street in Soho — Broadwick Street pump. Picture: Whispyhistory, CC BY-SA 4.0

Finish the London trail on Broadwick Street in Soho. The pump there is a modern replica, as Westminster Council says plainly. Its original stood nearby on what was then Broad Street during the 1854 cholera outbreak. John Snow marked deaths on a street map, investigated where people had drawn water and traced the illness to the pump. I work nights on a ward and spend half my shifts telling people to drink more water. Cian says this stop makes me sound confused. Fair. Cian's only concern was whether Dave had packed the flask.

Westminster places the replica at Broadwick Street and Poland Street. It stands outdoors on the street. No ticket is needed to see it.

The London walk

Do those London stops in that order: Cornhill, West Smithfield, Broadwick Street. Walk west from the Royal Exchange by Cheapside, turn up toward Smithfield, then carry on through Holborn toward Soho. Allow about an hour of actual walking between the three stops. That is my estimate from Transport for London's City and West End walking maps, before a child asks to stop, examines a dog bowl or announces a sudden need for lunch. The streets are the outing. No one needs to book a pump. If rain turns the day into a row about wet shoes, save the whole walk for another Saturday.

The Wimbledon day

Former horse trough and drinking fountain in South Park Gardens, Wimbledon — South Park Gardens horse trough. Picture: AndreyBabichCom, CC BY-SA 4.0

Keep South Park Gardens in Wimbledon for its own day. Historic England lists a granite horse trough there with a small bowl for people and a dog trough below. Its garden description says the horse basin held annual flowers in 1998. That is a dated glimpse, so I have left today's planting out of Cian's list. The council describes a public garden with paths and grass, which gives Rory somewhere to run after the dog-bowl search. He will probably fall asleep just as Cian finds it.

Use a Dudley Road entrance. Merton Council lists Saturday opening from 9 in the morning until dusk.

Two spouts in Womersley

Village pump and trough beside Bank Wood Road in Womersley — Womersley pump. Picture: DS Pugh, CC BY-SA 2.0

The northern stop is Womersley in North Yorkshire. A photograph by DS Pugh puts its pump at the corner of Bank Wood Road and Northfield Lane. Historic England describes a handle, an oblong trough and two spouts at different heights. It says the 1842 date is reputed. Cian has already underlined both spouts on his page; Rory would take the lower one for a bath and then complain about the lack of bubbles. This one stays a quick village look rather than the whole family Saturday.

Find the pump at Bank Wood Road and Northfield Lane. The photograph shows it from the road. There is no indoor visit to book.

The initials in Great Cubley

Cast iron village pump at the Great Cubley crossroads — Great Cubley village pump. Picture: Anne Pollitt, CC BY-SA 2.0

Head south for Great Cubley in Derbyshire if you are making the two village stops into one driving day. Its cast iron pump carries HAC and 1902. Historic England identifies the donor as Henry Arthur Clowes and the maker as Bamford's. The maker even put 'Frost Protected Lift Pump' on the lower panel. That is nearly as much writing as Cian has put beside the fuel column. The earlier maps in Historic England's account show a pump at this spot before the present one was erected, so the village had been drawing water here longer than this particular ironwork has stood.

Anne Pollitt's Geograph photograph places the pump at the Great Cubley crossroads. The listing says it remains in its original location. Plan a look from the crossroads.

Cian takes the flask

Cian has linked Womersley's Bank Wood Road junction and Great Cubley's crossroads as a north-to-south drive, separate from the London walk and the Wimbledon garden day. He has put the two listed locations on the map in that order, then written FUEL big enough for Dave to read from the passenger seat. Our six-stop Saturday has become three manageable outings. Dave has been assigned the flask and has accepted without asking for a route change. Cian's next page is folded shut, but I can see the word TIDE through the paper.

About the writer

Maggie Brennan
38, mother of three from Cork. Can a family actually do this, and in what order.

Three kids and a husband who says he knows the way. Cian (11) scores every trip out of ten, badly. Aoife (8) takes one stone from every car park. Rory (3) falls asleep at the best bit. Dave drives and gets lost and calls it the scenic route. Her mother Bridie minds the kids on night shifts. Maggie works nights on the same ward as Shona's Kirsty.

Story 27 of 32 from Maggie.← Maggie's last story: Johnstown Castle with kids: the Wexford day beyond the turrets Maggie's next story: Muckross House and Torc Waterfall, with a castle and a friary on the way →Everything by Maggie Brennan