Calder Fountain

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Free-standing sandstone fountain, dated 1859, in memory of Commander Calder. Lozenge-shaped on plan and located at the eastern end of Custom House Square along the south elevation to Custom House (HB26/50/062).

Splayed granite ashlar base with projections to the four corners abutted by granite wheel-guards and supporting scrolled sandstone ashlar brackets, panelled piers and fluted block capitals to continuous cornice having corresponding projections, framing all four elevations. Fountain surmounted by original cast-iron post supporting replacement metal lantern.

The south elevation has a granite trough set within a shallow sandstone arch with inscribed sandstone panel over stating; ‘Erected by public subscription / In commemoration of / Francis Anderson Calder, Commander R.N. / Founder of the Belfast Society for the Prevention of Cruelty / to Animals. And for twenty years its active Honorary Secretary. / A.D. “Blessed are the Merciful” 1859’. Continuous sandstone cornice above is surmounted by a low blocking course with rectangular panel stating; ‘Calder Fountains’.

The bowed west elevation has coursed sandstone ashlar walling with an ogee-moulded granite font and scalloped back panel.

The north elevation as per south elevation with inscription stating; ‘Erected by public subscription / As a Memorial of the labours of / Francis Anderson Calder, Commander R.N. / in the cause of humanity / And to whom is mainly to be attributed the erection, between the / years 1843 and 1855 of ten water troughs for the use of cattle in / Belfast. / A.D. “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast” 1859’.

The bowed east elevation as per west elevation.

Setting
Located at the eastern end of Custom House Square along the south elevation to Custom House (HB26/50/062) to the west of Donegall Quay abutted by Liscannor flag-stone paving.

Roof: None
RWG : None
Walling: Coursed sandstone ashlar
Windows: None

Historical information

Erected in 1859 to the designs of engineer George Smith, the drinking fountain commemorates Commander Francis Calder, a pioneering figure of animal welfare.

Originally born in Edinburgh in 1787, Francis Anderson Calder joined the Royal Navy in 1803 and served until the termination of the Napoleonic Wars. Relocating to Belfast, Calder was appalled at the mistreatment of animals; which had become more common as the use of horses and cattle for heavy labour increased with the onset of the industrial revolution. Cock-fighting and bear-baiting were also rife. In response Calder, along with other respected and concerned citizens, founded the Belfast Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1836 (which later became the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). In what was then an unprecedented fight for animal rights, Calder was mainly responsible for the provision of ten animal water troughs across Belfast during 1843-55. A further eleven troughs, utilised by both animals and people, were erected over the next eight years and the Society’s efforts became highly noted throughout Britain (Fountain Inscription; Henry; Belfast News Letter).

Calder died in 1855 and the memorial fountain was erected in his memory, funded through public subscription (according to the inscription on the fountain itself). The memorial, designed by Smith, provided “…a drinking fountain for the use of bipeds and a trough for the use of quadrupeds.” (Larmour). Chief Engineer to the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, George Smith also prepared the designs for the Harbour Commissioner’s Office in Corporation Square (HB26/50/094) and the lighthouse at Holywood Bank (DIA). The memorial of the drinking fountain contains inscriptions on two sides, which include the phrases, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast" and “Blessed are the merciful”.

Originally erected in Queen’s Square in 1859 (to the south side of Custom House Square) the fountain was moved in 1870 to facilitate expanding transport routes (Henry). Relocated to Albert Square (north of Custom House Square) in recent decades to accommodate changes in traffic routes, the fountain was restored by the Laganside Corporation in 2003 and is now located within its original sitting (HB File; UK Landscape Award).

Resources

Primary Sources

1. Calder Fountain Inscription
2. HB File (HB26/50/155)

Secondary Sources

1. Larmour, P “Belfast, An Illustrated Architectural Guide” 1987
2. Henry, Lee “Francis Calder Commemorative Fountain” (October 2010)
http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/1567/francis-calder-commemorative-fountain
3. UK Landscape Award “Custom House Square Belfast- Submission Statement” (2010)
http://www.uklandscapeaward.org/entries/showentry.php?entry=85
http://www.uklandscapeaward.org/Entryfiles/1282750725Custom-House-Square-LI-awards.pdf
4. www.dia.ie - Dictionary of Irish Architects online
5. Belfast News Letter “175 Years of Fighting Cruelty” (22nd August 2012)
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/175-years-of-fighting-cruelty-1-4187230

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form

Criteria for listing: historic interest

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

Evaluation

Free-standing sandstone fountain, dated 1859. A decoratively detailed fountain that was built to serve both animals and citizens on a prominent quayside location. Erected to commemorate Commander Calder for his contribution to civic society and founding of the Belfast Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Although relocated in the late twentieth-century the fountain represents an important aspect of Victorian civic society and is a well-detailed representative of the type.