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Fountain centrepiece comes home after 61 years

John Devine/BBC A heavy cast iron plinth painted silver with depictions of a swan on one side and a black and white water bird on the other. Both have reeds and bull rushes in the background, the object stands about 1m (3ft) high and has four gold arms, about 15cm (6 inches) in length coming off a circular shaped piece. Rings are attached to each arm, which would have originally had a chain on attached to a cup to collect drinking water. The large base, which is damaged, rusted and painted green, is next to it.John Devine/BBC
The metal drinking feature, with four chained cups, was removed from the Coronation Fountain and sold in 1963

The centrepiece of an historic fountain has returned to a town centre after it was removed 61 years ago.

The domed Coronation Fountain on Broad Street in March, Cambridgeshire, was officially opened in January 1912 to commemorate the coronation of King George V.

When it was first installed, it had a 2m (6ft) drinking feature, complete with four chained cups. This section was removed and sold in 1963. The family who bought it has now loaned it to a local museum.

The loan coincides with the main part of the 8m (25ft) high fountain, which no longer includes a water feature, being recently restored and reinstalled after a 15-month absence.

March and District Museum Black and white picture from 1912 of big crowds gathered around a domed monument complete with water drinking feature in the centre. The structure is ornate, with eight open sides with arches and eight pillars supporting the dome. It stands about 8m (25ft) high and has a Victorian looking gas lamp on the top.March and District Museum
Crowds flock to see the official opening of the Coronation Fountain in 1912
Cambs Times An advert from the 1963 edition of the Cambridgeshire Times (now the Cambs Times) detailing the sale of the drinking fountain.Cambs Times
A cutting from a 1963 edition of the Cambridgeshire Times (now Cambs Times) newspaper advertising the sale of the water feature
John Devine Gordon Thorpe is wearing a brown leather jacket and a dark jumper with a poppy in the middle. He has a chequered shirt underneath and is resting his left arm on part of the cast iron water feature, which is painted silver, with four thin gold arms sticking out around 15cm (6 inches).John Devine
Gordon Thorpe says the restored water drinking feature will be displayed in the courtyard

Gordon Thorpe, 72, chairman of the March and District Museum, explained the drinking feature was sold off by the then council for £5 in 1963, due to it causing an obstruction for drivers at the Broad Street junction.

"From then until around 2012, it appeared in a garden in nearby Wimblington before going into storage in Manea," he said.

"We think it is an iconic structure; it has been offered to us on loan, and with its history and heritage, we accepted it."

March and District Museum Black and white picture of the Coronation Fountain from 1929, complete with water drinking fountain in the centre. Smartly dressed men and women can be seen near shops in the background, wearing hats suits and coats.March and District Museum
The museum says the Coronation Fountain, seen here in 1929, is an "iconic piece of history for the town"

Mr Thorpe said many locals would like to see the drinking feature reunited with the main part of the Coronation Fountain, which now sits in a new location. It is close to its original position in the middle of the road, but now in a wide pedestrianised area, which would not impinge on motorists vision.

He added: "A family will from the current owners has a clause in it stating that the feature should never be returned to the council, as they sold it off in the first place. It was, in effect, rescued by the family."

March and District Museum Black and white drawing of an ornate cast iron water feature with drinking fountain and four cups on chains hanging just above four troughs and small spouts. The structure sits on a plinth with lions heads on four supporting pillars. It stands around 2m (6ft) tall and is about 1m (3ft) in diameter.March and District Museum
An illustration of the drinking feature centrepiece of the Coronation Fountain. Four cups hang on chains to collect water from spouts set into the plinth

Mr Thorpe said that the museum had records and newspaper reports from the time the drinking feature was sold that claimed people on the whole were "pleased to see it go".

"It is an extremely heavy cast iron piece made up of three sections, and it will need some restoration," he said.

"We won't be able to house it inside the museum; the floor wouldn't take it, so it will be displayed in due course in an outdoor space at the back of the building, but I think it will cause some interest because it is an iconic local item," he said.

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