Survey Data
Reg No
15402218
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Social, Technical
Original Use
Water pump
Date
1870 - 1900
Coordinates
209601, 249296
Date Recorded
11/11/2004
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. Modern trough to front. Set back from road adjacent to road junction.
Appraisal
A typical late nineteenth-century water pump, of a standard design that is encountered throughout rural Westmeath. This particular example is in very good condition and is well-maintained. 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 Glassan.