Survey Data
Reg No
11817084
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Artistic, Historical, Social, Technical
Original Use
Water pump
Date
1860 - 1900
Coordinates
272820, 212976
Date Recorded
14/02/2003
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding cast-iron water hydrant, c.1880, comprising fluted shaft with lion mask spout, moulded necking with handle having ball finial, and fluted ogee dome over. Now disused. Road fronted on tarmacadam footpath.
Appraisal
This water hydrant is of some historical and technical interest, dating to a period before mains water supply when a communal source of clean drinking water was deemed sufficient. The survival of the water hydrant in its original location is of importance - elsewhere removed and re-instated as ornamental features, the example in Kildare town survives as a reminder of early cast-iron. The water hydrant is attractively sited just off the line of the road and is of artistic importance, having been conceived as an aesthetic, as well as functional, piece.