Wood Green Fountain

By the 19th century, drinking water was becoming a severe problem for London's inhabitants, with massive population increase, industrial waste and old medieval conduits falling out of use. There were frequent cholera epidemics. In 1859 The Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association was founded in order that free drinking fountains, yielding pure cold water, would confer a boon on all classes, and especially the poor. Fountains were often located near pubs in order to divert working men from the temptations of alcohol. Cattle and horses also suffered with lack of water: by 1885, over 50,000 horses were drinking from London's troughs every day.

The Wood Green cattle trough and fountain, erected in 1901, is unusually ornate. It is sited on the main Wood Green thoroughfare and adjacent to the 19th century Fishmongers' Arms. The latter's origins are likely in the Fishmongers' Company, whose almshouses were nearby; in the 1960s the pub was well known as a music venue for top-billing bands but it is now closed and locally listed.

The fountain is on the Heritage at Risk Register. Rusting pipes in the main trough are expanding, the boar's head is damaged, the basin is chipped, decorative spouts are lost and the Portland stone is worn. Its tarmac surround sprouts with buddleia. The Heritage of London Trust has launched a restoration project which will include masonry and structural repair, resetting the railings so the fountain is accessible from the street and site interpretation.