Page 33 - The Tale of Two Fountains

THE TALE OF TWO FOUNTAINS
CHAPTER 4
QUEST FOR THE MUMBAI FOUNTAIN
In the late 1980s, Arun was asked to design the refurbishment of the Market Square in Northamp- ton and its layout of the stalls. For him as an Architect / Town Planner working for the local Authority, it was a great opportunity and privilege to explore and study the history of the Market
Square. As mentioned before, the Square is enclosed by many fine buildings ranging from the 17th to the 19th centuries and forms an important part of the All Saints Conservation Area.
The refurbishment project was completed before the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the granting of the “Town Charter” by Richard I to Northampton on 18th November 1189. The Market Square played an important part in the civic events planned in November 1989, a historic year for the town.
As Arun gathered plans to study the various layers of history, he began to understand the various events that took place here and learned of the existence of the cast iron fountain which stood in the centre and unfortunately, was demolished in 1962 – 99 years after it was given to the town by Samuel Isaac.
Old plans clearly show the location of the fountain with an orderly layout of the stalls. We came across a number of books and newspaper articles with photographs of the fountain. With its sheer size and ornate craftsmanship, it was indeed a magnificent work of art and engineering. We were very much hoping at the time to find design drawings of the fountain. After many enquiries, we found out that the major fire at the Eagle Foundry in December 1869 caused considerable damage and destroyed several documents including the design and pattern drawings of the Market Square Fountain. This was later confirmed by the Rice Foundry.
Market Square Refurbishment aerial 1989
Market Day 1989
23