Water pump in Kilcock, County Kildare

What is recorded here

Water pump in Kilcock shares a little railed island with a second water fitting, both now retired. They look like a married couple put out in the garden after forty years of arguing over which one was left running.

Freestanding cast-iron water hydrant, c.1880, comprising fluted shaft with moulded necking having fluted ogee dome over with ball finial. Now disused. Sited on island site on a concrete base with iron railings to circumference.Freestanding cast-iron waterpump, c.1905, comprising cylindrical shaft with raised horizontal banding, fluted upper section with spout, fluted ogee-domed cap and 'cow-tail' handle having finial. Now disused.

This pairing of water hydrant and waterpump is an unusual and picturesque feature in the locality. The water hydrant and waterpump are of some historical and technical interest, dating to a period before mains water supply when a communal source of clean drinking water was deemed sufficient. The survival of the artefacts in their original location is of importance - elsewhere removed and re-instated as ornamental features, the examples at Connaught Street survive as a reminder of early cast-iron work. The artefacts are attractively sited on an island site on the side of the road and are of artistic importance, having been conceived as an aesthetic, as well as functional, pieces.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 11802036

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