water pump

Freestanding cast-iron water pump, erected c.1885, comprising banded cylindrical shaft with fluted head having fluted spout, ‘cow tail’ curvilinear handle, and fluted ogee-dome cap with finial. Bounded by a rubble limestone wall on crescent-shaped plan, open to the road (south). Drainage gutter to the south. Located to the south of Mullingar adjacent to Lynn Cross Roads.

A typical late nineteenth-century water pump, of a standard design encountered throughout rural Westmeath. This pump is in particularly good condition and is still in working order. Water pumps played an important social role in the late nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries by providing a communal water source before the development of mains water supply. Frequently, as in this case, water pumps were sited close to rural cross roads and road junctions. This cast-iron pump now serves as an attractive piece of street furniture, aesthetically enhancing the rural landscape to the south of Mullingar. Located on a leafy by-road and surrounded by modern houses this piece of street furniture adds character and charm to its setting.