Dumfries Fountain

This stunning cast iron fountain that can be found on Dumfries High Street was made at the Sun Foundry in Glasgow. It replaced an earlier fountain that brought much-needed fresh drinking water to the town.

In 1832, Dumfries was struck by cholera. Hundreds of locals perished and were laid to rest in a mass grave in the nearby St Michael's Kirkyard.

The town was struck again in 1848, and Dr John Sutherland from the Scottish Board of Health in Glasgow was sent to investigate the situation. He organised a cleanup of the area and traced the cause of the outbreak, but not before hundreds more perished.

Although discussions of a gravity-fed water supply began as early as 1765, it took over a thousand deaths and almost a century to start a fresh water supply for the town.

The fountain has three circular tiers with conch-edged basins. There are flower and leaf details on the underside of each basin.

The bottom basin contains four cherubs holding crocodiles with water spouting from their mouths. The second tier contains four dolphins (although I would argue that they are large fish as dolphins don't have scales). They also have water spouting from their mouths. The top tier contains four storks or herons, and flowers with the water flowing over the edge of the tier.

The fountain has not always looked this way, as it has undergone several colour schemes over the years. Originally it was bronze with gold detailing and had four pedestals with a freestone basin hosting iron vases holding green cacti.