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Forgotten fountain to be restored to former glory in heart of City
Ruth Bloomfield9 Sep 2009
A project costing £500,000 to rebuild and restore a fountain near St Paul's Cathedral began today.
The St Lawrence Jewry memorial fountain stood for more than 100 years and was a favourite place for City workers to stop for a drink of water.
But the ornate fountain was dismantled into 150 pieces in the Seventies and has since been languishing in storage.
To restore it, the fountain has been transported to a foundry in Chichester where it will be put back together.
Although restorers have decided some of the stonework is beyond repair, original features including a shallow-relief carving of Moses will be repaired.
City chiefs hope the fountain will be finished next August, and plan to place it on the eastern side of Carter Lane Gardens, just south of St Paul's.
The original fountain flowed into a trough, which is not suitable for drinking from, but the City corporation will install a nozzle so passers-by can use it. Another drinking fountain is being built in the gardens as well.
Christine Cohen, chairwoman of the City's planning and transportation committee, said: "When the fountain was dismantled, an undertaking was given to put it back again.
"It is very spectacular indeed and it is part of the heritage of the City. It would be a great shame not to honour our promise."
The fountain, designed by architect John Robinson, was installed in 1866 outside the Church of St Lawrence Jewry.
Its bronze sculpture was created by artist Joseph Durham. When the fountain was taken down for the redevelopment of Guildhall, the planning permission said it should be rebuilt.
The dismantled fountain was left in a vault in the City for 15 years then stored on pallets in a barn at a farm in Epping.
The renovation is part of a wider initiative by the City of London Corporation to restore its historic fountains.
It also wants to provide standpipe-style drinking fountains to reduce consumption of bottled water.
The City also plans to renovate the Maternité fountain at the Royal Exchange, St Dunstan's fountain in Fleet Street and fountains at Blackfriars Bridge and Finsbury Square.
Mrs Cohen said: "We want to promote fountains as much more sustainable than bottled water."
