NS6064 : Doulton Fountain
taken 2 years ago, near to Royston, Glasgow, Scotland
NS6064 : The Doulton Fountain, Glasgow Green is the largest three-storey terracotta fountain in the world. It is situated immediately to the north of the People's Palace on Glasgow Green.
The fountain, commemorating Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee of 1887 and celebrating Britain's Imperial achievements, was designed for the 1888 International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park. After the exhibition, the hand-made structure was gifted to the city by its manufacturer, Sir Henry Doulton, and moved to Glasgow Green in 1890.
The fountain comprises four tiers which rise above the lower basin:
* The first tier has four colonial groups representing the four continents spanned by the British Empire.(NS6064 : Doulton Fountain, Colonial Group)
* The next tier depicts four servicemen (NS6064 : Doulton Fountain, Servicemen)
* Four female water bearers are on the next tier VNS6064 : Doulton Fountain, Water Bearer
* A slightly larger than life-size Queen Victoria (NS6064 : Queen Victoria Statue, Doulton Fountain)presides at the apex of the monument.
The statue of Victoria was struck by lightning in 1891 and, rather than let the city fathers replace it with something inferior, Doulton paid for a replacement.
The Fountain received Category A Listed status 1970
By the 1970s the fountain was showing signs of deterioration due to weathering and vandalism. Recently, a £3.75million refurbishment has taken place and the switch on ceremony for the refurbished fountain took place in May 2005.