Water Pump

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Cast iron pump at one side of a green in front of a row of post Second World War council houses. Structure about 1200mm high with a 150mm diameter stem ending in a square plate bolted to a concrete base. Shallow concrete trough beside base running to a grating beside the road.

Head of pump more decorative with a ribbed collar at the top of the stem. Above, the head expands to a width of 300mm in a concave ribbed circle. A 75mm diameter spout projects with a small finial on its nose. A collar above has the legend ‘J McCandless & Company Coleraine’ and to the north side the bracket for the pump handle projects. The handle has been broken off near the hinge. Above, the width of the head reduces to around 250mm diameter in a convex ribbed curve.

The original top of the pump is missing and has been replaced by insitu concrete - curved to form a cap.

Former Highlands Primary School (HB02/03/031) is nearby.

Historical information

Not recorded on Ordnance Survey Maps, so hard to determine age. Likely that the structure dates from the late 19th century and was in use (as evidenced by the trough) to at least the post war construction of the nearby houses and probably (due to its survival) to the 1970s.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Victorian water pump of a pleasing decorative style which adds a little historical character to its surroundings. Mass produced, these were once very common objects in the landscape. In a year of examining the Limavady area this is the first such public pump we
have encountered, and is thus now a rare object of local historical and social importance. However the loss of the arm and the replacement of the cap with concrete (probably for safety reasons) has reduced the quality of the object. It is not at present suitable for listing.