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Histories of Northamptonshire
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Fountain Ball

Victorian 1863 Modern

This copper ball was added in the 1950s to the Victorian ornate cast iron fountain installed in the Market Square, Northampton.

Large copper ball added to the cast iron Victorian Market Square fountain in Northampton in 1954. © NMAG
Large copper ball added to the cast iron Victorian Market Square fountain in Northampton in 1954.
The fountain in the Market Square mid 20th century © NMAG
The fountain in the Market Square mid 20th century

Several water features have been added to Northampton’s Market Square in recent years, but none are quite as grand as the Victorian fountain.

The fountain was made of cast iron at Eagle Foundry in Northampton and erected on the south side of the Market Square in 1863. The 45-foot tall and 19 foot wide structure was created to commemorate the wedding of Prince Albert, Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Two drinking basins featured on opposite sides, and it was elaborately decorated with emblems, masks and shields. In 1900 the original globe lamp was replaced and in 1930 replaced again by four suspended lamps. Airflow Streamlines Ltd, a manufacturing company based in Far Cotton, made this copper ball for the top of the fountain in 1954.

The fountain was demolished in April 1962 after repeated vandalism and the suggestion that the structure was unsafe. It took several days, and six men, armed with a crane and a blowtorch to remove the fountain, calling into question why it had to be removed. The copper ball was returned to Airflow Streamlines and used at their factory as a giant plant pot, later being displayed on a plinth and subsequently donated to Northampton Museums and Art Gallery in 2004.

Number 67 of the objects selected for the A History of Northamptonshire in 100 Objects exhibition 2025..

Northampton
Contributed by NMAG

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