Water pump in Kilbrittain

Freestanding cast-iron water pump, installed c.1870, comprising banded base, fluted neck and cap with pointed finial, having cow tail handle. No longer in use. Set on concrete platform surrounded by recent rubble stone wall with stepped approach.

This water pump exhibits artistic detailing in its design, with an elegant handle, banded shaft, fluted cap and finial enlivening an otherwise functional item of street furniture. Water pumps such as this one once played an important social and functional role in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries providing a communal water source to rural communities. Located to the roadside it serves as a reminder of this era.