The Doulton Fountain on Glasgow Green is arguably the finest example of Victorian terracotta monumental architecture extent in the World. It has been restored and lit as part of Glasgow Green Renewal.Designed in French Renaissance style, the Fountain is surrounded by four tableaux of larger than life-sized human figures representing the main British colonies and dominions of Australia, Canada, South Africa and India. The figures lie within arches separated by four main piers encasing the eight columns of a cast iron frame and which contain intermediate niches from which water jets sprayed onto the inner basin.
The lower portion is a plinth, which contains four life-size servicemen located in niches separated by decorative pilasters, and representing a Grenadier Guardsman, a Black Watch highlander, a Royal Navy sailor and a Royal Irish Fusilier. Above them is a projecting cornice upon which four life-size, individually modelled, classical water bearers sit separated by decorative screens. From the vase held by each water bearer a stream of water flowed onto the cantilevered basin. The fountain structure continues skywards before terminating in the elaborately modelled figure of Queen Victoria.
A Category A listed structure of national importance, the fountain began life as one of the most spectacular exhibits and publicity gambits of the 1888 Great Exhibition held at Kelvin-grove Park, Glasgow, it was gifted to the City by Sir Henry Doulton at a time when Glasgow was considered the Second City of the Empire.
The fountain was given a permanent home on Glasgow Green in 1890 and in 1894 the structure was struck by lightning, which required the statue of Queen Victoria at the top of the Fountain to be completely remodelled.
Over the ensuing 100 years the condition of the structure deteriorated into decline. The statuary suffered much damage, with heads, parts of figures and other decorative elements disappearing, largely as a result of sustained vandalism. In addition, much of the fine detailing and ornamentation has been lost over time through the combined effects of weathering, pollution and lack of proper maintenance, minor repairs having been carried out on occasion using inferior methods and materials.
The structure ceased to be a working fountain in the 1960's and by the late 1980's the structural state of the fountain had deteriorated to the extent that it was necessary to support the cantilevered basin on scaffolding. The erection of a high fence around the structure finally removed the fountain from the public domain.
In September 1997 the restoration of the Fountain was successful in a bid made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for funding assistance to develop and improve Glasgow Green as a whole. The decision was also taken to move the Fountain to a more prominent site in front of the Peoples Palace Museum within a newly created hard-landscaped Civic Space whilst restoring it to its former glory, with full running water and suitably floodlit, ensuring that the resulting structure could be maintained in the appropriate manner by Glasgow City Council for the foreseeable future.
ERCO luminaires were integrated into the new Civic Space hard finishes to complement the design and highlight key features of the Fountain and Palace whilst being sympathetic to the surrounding areas.
A multitude of luminaires is sited underwater in the base bowl using different beam widths to illuminate individual features. The second tier is treated in the same way but with a reduction in the number of fittings. 4 narrow beam Beamers are mounted at ground level on the outskirts of the fountain base to accentuate Queen Victoria at the apex.
The dome of the Palace is a major feature, which could only be lit from limited locations on the roof, so a mixture of sculpture lens and spot reflector Beamers are used to get complete coverage.
The whole of the public space is delineated with Orientation LED's to give a cohesive appearance and the complete lighting system is controlled automatically to give evening and nighttime scenes.
The area is now a stylish addition to Glasgow's urban lighting strategy and restored Doulton's vision to exceed its former glory.
