Water pump in Ballyhattan

Freestanding cast-iron water pump, erected c.1885, comprising cylindrical shaft with a spout located half way along elongated shaft (rather than at head) with a fluted headed over having a fluted ogee-dome cap with finial. Elongated cast-iron handle to side. Located adjacent to Donore Crossroads to the northeast of Horseleap.

An unusual late nineteenth-century water pump, having a curious elongated and possibly unique design, which differs from the two main standard designs encountered in rural Westmeath. This particular example may have been made using elements from the standard 'cow tail' handle water pumps. Water pumps played an important social role in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries by providing a communal water source before the development of mains water supply. This cast-iron pump now serves as an attractive piece of street furniture, aesthetically enhancing the rural landscape. This pump is located adjacent to a rural crossroad junction, a common site for artefacts of this type.