McClelland Fountain

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A polished granite and stone memorial fountain commemorating Dr Robert Brown McClelland M.D. J.J.P; dated 1906, sited in front of the District Council offices to the south side of Downshire Road. Set on an octagonal concrete plinth, granite base with carved black granite trefoil band and well-shaped bowl to middle, inscribed “ERECTED IN LOVING MEMORY OF ROBERT BROWN MCCLELLAND M.D. J.J.P. BY HIS FAMILY 1906”. Four clustered polished black granite columns to shaft with ornately carved stone capitals and polygonal cap surmounted by a stone finial.

Setting

The Civic Building, housing the district council offices, is Neo-Georgian in style, opened 1982, and set in extensive grounds with access roads, planting and other landscaping.

Material: Polished granite and stone

Historical information

The McClelland fountain was erected in 1906 in order to commemorate local doctor Robert Brown McClelland. Originally sited on the Downshire Bridge, it was moved to Reilly Street in 1965 and then to the Civic Buildings in 1989. (Young and Quail; Banbridge Chronicle) The fountain does not appear on historic County series OS maps, but is first shown on the 1960/70s edition in its Reilly Street location.

Dr Robert Brown McClelland was a physician, surgeon and JP, born in County Down and trained at Glasgow University. He lived and practiced in a house in Bridge Street that later became the premises of the Belfast Bank. (Slater’s Directory 1881; Banbridge Chronicle; 1901 census) In the mid-1960s the doctor was still remembered among the older citizens of Banbridge for his musical ability and his daily practice of going for a drive with his horse and ‘outside car’. (Banbridge Chronicle) The doctor died in 1901 at the age of 73, a relatively wealthy man, leaving a fortune of nearly £7,000 and property and lands in Newry Street, Edenderry and Ballymoney. McClelland was married with two children and he left to his son, Arthur Wellesley McClelland, also a doctor, all his medical and surgical books ‘and all bottles and drugs connected with my surgery and all my instruments’. (Will of Dr Robert Brown McClelland)

The drinking fountain was erected on Downshire Bridge in 1906 and several photos survive showing the fountain in its original position. (Dillon) In 1965 Banbridge Urban Council asked its engineer and surveyor J G McKinney to prepare a scheme for the removal of the fountain, thus giving a wider berth to the increasing volume of traffic. Under the scheme the parapet walls and pillars were to be reconstructed so as to give better vision for motorists. (Banbridge Chronicle) The fountain was moved to a new position at the entrance to Reilly Park where it remained for some years.

The Civic Building was opened in Banbridge in 1982 and in June 1989 the fountain was moved again and positioned on a raised platform in front of the new offices giving it a more prominent position where it could be on view to the general public. The fountain had been targeted by vandals in the past and the decision to move it to a position where it could be a showpiece was widely welcomed. (Dillon; Banbridge Chronicle)

References:

Primary Sources

1. 1960s/70s OS map 220
2. Banbridge Chronicle 8th January 1965
3. Banbridge Chronicle 8th June 1989
4. Slater’s Directory 1881
5. 1901 census online
6. PRONI Will of Dr Robert Brown McClelland died 16th October 1901

Secondary Sources

1. Dillon, A “Images of Ireland, Banbridge”Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1997
2. Young, A F and Quail, D “Old Gilford, Scarva, Loughbrickland and Lawrencetown” Stenlake Publishing, 2002

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A polished granite and stone memorial fountain commemorating Dr Robert Brown McClelland M.D. J.J.P, dated 1906 and sited to the front of the District Council offices to the south side of Downshire Road in 1989. Although of some interest for its historic associations, the fountain is not on of the best examples of the type and has been relocated from its original setting. It is not of special interest.