water pump

Freestanding cast-iron water hydrant, installed c. 1890, comprising moulded pedestal with bucket stand supporting fluted shaft, banded neck, spout, handle and fluted cap with acorn finial. Maker's stamp to pedestal and shaft. Mounted on rendered plinth to edge road in village of Mountcollins.

An attractive item of road side street furniture that is becoming increasingly rare throughout the Irish landscape. This hydrant is a fine example of the mass produced cast-iron items that were produced during the late nineteenth century, incorporating numerous artistic details into an otherwise functional object. Pumps and hydrants such as this one, are important reminders of a time when the provision of a fresh communal water supply was a recent development, and as such are of social significance. This particular hydrant was manufactured by the Glenfield & Kennedy Ltd., Hydraulic Engineers of Kilmarnock, Scotland, a company that was formed out of merger of two companies in 1899 and specialised in the production waterworks fittings.