Water pump in Carn

Freestanding cast-iron water pump, erected c.1880. Circular-profile banded shaft, wider fluted head with gadrooned domed cap, and spike pinnacle. Spout with raised rim and projecting bucket lip, cow-tailed handle pivoted on lug projecting from one side of head. Secured on concrete slab with metal railing to three sides.

This water pump is an interesting part of the social history of Carn, set at a road junction that was once surrounded by several houses and a school, none of which survive but can be seen on historical maps. It recalls the period before mains water supply, when drinking water was supplied to the public at a communal source, the locations of which became places of social interaction in the surrounding communities. It is simple but elegant in design and is an excellent example of the high quality design and execution of cast-iron in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.