Pump

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a cast-iron double wheel operated water pump, erected c. 1890. It is situated at the junction of Coagh Road and North Street, Stewartstown. It faces east down the Coagh Road.

The pump has a squat hyperbolic pedestal with a bowl-shaped head and hemispherical fluted cap. There is a wheel to each side of the head, each with five spokes. The handle is missing. A down-turned spout is located on the eastern side of the pump, fluted at its base and with a rounded horn projecting upward from the curve to form a bucket holder. The pedestal has simple moulding to the top and bottom and the base is a square cast-iron plate, which is bolted to the stone base. One bolt is missing.

The manufacturer’s stamp is embossed on the south side of the pedestal. It is oval in shape and reads “Winnington and Co Engineers Belfast”. The cap is fluted with a mushroom-shaped finial on top.

Setting:
The pump sits on a sandstone base with granite kerbstones. A random ashlar stone wall has been built alongside, to the north. Pump, base and wall are at the roadside, with a grass verge to the west side and a field behind. To the east of the pump is a concrete block wall and a gate into the field, with a concrete finish to the gateway.

Historical information

A pump is marked on this site on the 1906 OS plan of Stewartstown. Judging from its design it may have been installed c.1890.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/8/156/1 OS plan of Stewartstown, 1906(-c.24) [This plan is marked ‘surveyed 1906’, however it shows the War Memorial which was erected in 1924!]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Good and increasingly rare example of a double wheel cast iron water pump which forms an eye-catching feature on the corner of the road. Originally the town had six or seven public water pumps; this is now the only surviving example. It is a tangible reminder of the time when drinking water was only available from the public street.