Survey Data
Reg No
15400318
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Social, Technical
Original Use
Water pump
In Use As
Water pump
Date
1870 - 1900
Coordinates
249567, 274415
Date Recorded
07/10/2004
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding cast-iron water pump, erected c.1885, comprising banded cylindrical shaft with fluted head having fluted spout, ‘cow tail’ curvilinear handle, and fluted ogee-dome cap with finial over. Set on concrete base and surrounded by low cement rendered plinth wall, open to front (northeast). Located to the northwest of Fore, adjacent to rural road junction.
Appraisal
A typical late nineteenth-century water pump, of a standard design that is encountered throughout rural Westmeath. This is a particular well-maintained example and is still in use. 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 Fore.