Keep the Pavement Dry

We are fortunate to have plenty of water in our houses and bottled water unlike thirsty Victorian who had to find a drinking fountain. Many towns had drinking fountains and some were quite ornate like this one now in the Museum in Edinburgh.
This drinking fountain was made in the 1880s and is an example of decorative ironwork which was very fashionable in Victorian times.  Changes in manufacturing techniques made it possible to produce cast iron that was strong and could be made into complex designs.  There are still drinking fountains, bandstands and other examples of the ironwork throughout Britain but many were destroyed after being requisitioned during World War II, as vital material for the war industries. Unfortunately instead of being used for making things many were left to rot in scrap yards around the country, or dumped at sea.  Subsequently due to the high maintainance costs many more have been removed.
Like many drinking fountains this is decorated with reliefs of storks with flowers and birds decorating the canopy and painted in the standard colours.