Ian Bright Architects

An important component of McClean’s original design for Mesnes Park was a substantial and elegant cast iron fountain, designed and manufactured by the Coalbrookdale Company of Ironbridge, Shropshire, was completed in 1878. The fountain unfortunately fell into disrepair and the fountain was completely removed from the park in 1921. The Coalbrookdale Company were well known for their cast iron structures, both decorative and functional, ranging from their popular fountains created as a kit of parts from their extensive pattern books, to the famous Iron Bridge completed in 1779, spanning the River Severn in Coalbrookdale itself; the world’s first iron bridge.

None of the original elements of the fountain have survived to the present day. However, sufficient historical photographs and written descriptions existed to allow a new fountain to be created using appropriate historical materials and techniques, which closely mirrors the appearance of the original fountain. The fountain has been recreated using traditional cast iron methods including fabricating patterns and casting every separate component. It is an exact replica of a Coalbrookdale fountain still extant in Lurgan. To achieve this we took a 3D laser survey of the Lurgan fountain. This modern technology informed the specialist iron foundry of the exact details for every componant to be cast to the original Coalbrookdale pattern book.