Peter shares this latest news from Down to the Coast. Ed
A team of local craftsmen working under the umbrella of the Eccleston George collective are using their skills to return some of the lost finery to a unique piece of Ryde’s heritage.
Designed and constructed by James Pulham and Son
The beautifully ornate fountain in the town’s Esplanade Gardens was originally designed and constructed by renowned Victorian landscape gardeners James Pulham and Son. Unfortunately time has not been kind to this special piece of our heritage.
Not only has it lost its original purpose as a water feature but it has also been denuded of its more vulnerable decorative elements. This includes the cherub with dolphin figurine which was the central feature perched atop the fountain.
Restored to its original position
An unstinting passion for the work of Pulham mixed with some good old detective work enabled the Eccleston George team to locate the original designs for the fountain. Fareham based plasterwork specialists DGO Restoration were able to recreate a mould for the cherub and after several false starts a cast was taken and painstakingly pieced together by Dave Badman of Eccleston George. This has now been restored to its original position.
Funded by Down to the Coast as part of its Caulkhead Heroes project the works form part of a broader programme to restore the full suite of the fountain’s decorative features including eight urns that would have sat on the perimtere of the fountain’s base.
