Survey Data
Reg No
15400222
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Social, Technical
Original Use
Water pump
Date
1870 - 1900
Coordinates
236094, 274702
Date Recorded
16/11/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding cast-iron water pump, erected c.1885, comprising banded cylindrical shaft with fluted head having fluted spout, and a ‘cow tail’ curvilinear handle. Original cap now missing. Set on cement plinth with drain to front (south). Located to the north of Lismacaffry.
Appraisal
A typical late nineteenth-century water pump, of a standard design that is encountered throughout rural Westmeath. Unfortunately this example has lost its early cast iron cap, which detracts from its character. Water pumps played an important social role in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries by providing a communal water source before the development of mains water supply. Frequently, as in this case, water pumps were located at or near road junctions. This cast-iron pump now serves as an attractive piece of street furniture, aesthetically enhancing the rural landscape to the north of Lismacaffry.