Hanbury fountain

The Hanbury Fountain was originally erected in 1860 in the Strand, near the church of St Mary-le-Strand. It commemorates Robert Hanbury MP (1845-1903), MP for Tamworth and later for Preston, who served as President of the Board of Agriculture from 1900 to 1903. In the 1890s, Robert Hanbury lived in Wimbledon, and the fountain was moved to the south-east corner of Wimbledon Common in 1904 when the Strand was redeveloped to create Aldwych. Its inscriptions across four sides read: ‘The Gift of Robt Hanbury Esq MP, The Fear of the Lord is a Fountain of Life; ‘With thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light.’; ‘I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely’; ‘Jesus said whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.’ There is a horse trough alongside, erected by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association.

The fountain is based on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens, which dates to 335/334 BC. Lysicrates was a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theatre of Dionysus, and erected the monument as a commemoration of his winning performance.

The 2025/2026 restoration project included major work to the heavily corroded cast iron fountain as well as new piping and gilded lettering. Prior to restoration, the fountain hadn't been working for decades and has been relocated from its former Wimbledon Common site to the bustling Wimbledon High Street to serve a higher number of passers-by. The relocation and restoration work was carried out by London Stone Conservation.

In spring 2026 the fountain was unveiled by the Mayor of Merton, Cllr Martin Whelton, along with many local residents and local school pupils.

Thanks to the support of the Jones Day Foundation and to Merton Council and the Wimbledon Society for working with us on this project.