What is recorded here

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. Located to the east of Athlone and surrounded on three sides by a rubble limestone boundary wall (open to road).

A typical late nineteenth-century water pump, of a standard design encountered throughout rural Westmeath. 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. This particular example is in excellent condition and is surrounded by an attractive rubble limestone wall. This cast-iron pump now serves as an attractive piece of street furniture, aesthetically enhancing the rural landscape to the east of Athlone.

This does not grant access. Most recorded buildings are privately owned; view them only from public ground unless the owner allows entry.