WALCOT ST ENHANCEMENT STUDY

F. LADYMEAD FOUNTAIN AND CATTLE TROUGH

'Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' John Chapter 4

The fine Ladymead Drinking Fountain and Horse Trough was commissioned in 1860 by Mrs Elizabeth Landon,designed by Major Charles Edward Davies and erected for the use of the community at the base of the Paragon Wall just North of the Paragon Steps.

It is a mix of carved marble, granite,sandstone,lias,pennant and oolitic limestone. In its day it would have been a major, decorative and colourful addition to the quality of the street .At present it is in a serious condition of decay and has received no maintenance work for a considerable period of time eventhough the Council commissioned a remedial document on its urgent repair from international conservators St Blaise Ltd in 1993 (appendix IV). At present there is no water in this facility and local traders do keep the trough planted to make it look more cheerful.

There is a strong and heartfelt desire in the community to restore this special water feature to its former glory and create Œa village space' here with seating and extended pavement area for the community and visitors to Walcot Street to meet,chat and sit if they so wish. At present the Ladymead fountain fronts directly on to the highway where cars are parked, there is little or no footway.

The message it gives at present is negative, the fountain is hidden away,uncared for and says nothing positive about the street or the community. The community are keen to bring back a sense of worth to Walcot Street and change the feeling that it is a neglected inner city area.They are keen to fundraise to repair and conserve this feature,reinstall the water and give it sufficient paved frontage to create a welcoming public space.

1. CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS AND COSTING

a). Immediately instruct St Blaise Ltd to prepare detailed costing on the repair of the drinking fountain,trough and surround which will include the recommended hoodmould with lighting under, connection and working water elements to both parts of the feature,lighting, cleaning and repair to all stone and marble work as is.

COST: To produce detailed costing £ 300.00 - 500.00 Or:

b). Marble and Stoneworks of Bath, based in Old Orchard would clean it and remortar it to bring out the quality of the fountain as it is.This would not include the waterworks,lighting or any replacement of carved marble or stone work.

COST: Clean and remortar only £ 3.000.00

FUNDING:B&NES and traders of Walcot Street to raise initial moneys to pay for detailed costing of repair and conservation to move it through quickly ie.£ 20.00 from supportive traders,£50.00 from B&NES etcetera. Once the overall funding needs are known,
Lead Artist,B&NES and members of the community to raise funding , with local,national and international partners to repair the Ladymead Fountain to its former glory, as soon as possible.

POTENTIAL PARTNERS: Wessex Water, English Heritage, National Lottery, Arts and Business, European Heritage Fund, BURA, English Partnerships etc

MAINTENANCE: Maintenance schedule for the next 5 years to be provided by conservation company on completion.

2. CARVED INSCRIPTION AND HISTORICAL REFERENCE The carved stone bearing the original biblical inscription should be cleaned and left as it is and the historical references,(benefactor,designer and date) and the biblical inscription should be sandblasted into toughened glass.
The text should be designed and sandblasted on to both sides of a sheet of 10mm toughened float which would be sited under the arch at the back of the new fountain,with low energy lighting sited above or beside it.This lighting would illuminate the text at night and it would be read against the dark interior stone in the day.
A tape composed for this site,could be placed under the lowest arch and activated by sensor.

ARTIST: KATHY HINDE Kathy Hinde is a professional mixed media artist /composer/musician living and working in Bath.She has had considerable experience in creating glass and water works with text and creating mixed media works using light/sound/water. She is an experienced lecturer and community artist.

PRODUCTION: Artist to work with conservation contractor and Lead Artist on the design,installation and lighting of the trough and glass. All siteing and installation specifications and 5 year maintenance schedule to be drawn up in consultation with contracted conservation professionals.

INSTALLATION:Artist to install works in collaboration with contractors.

FUNDING: As above

COST: Design ,Production and Installation of Glass Work £ 1.500.00 Lighting £ 900.00 Sound composition /sensor and tape system £ 1.500.00 Estimated overall cost £ 3.900.00

MAINTENANCE: Artist to provide 5 year maintenance schedule on completion.

3. FOOTWAY

The pavement should be extended as much as possible on this West side of the street and especially around and in front of the Ladymead Fountain.The East side width is adequate at present between Old Orchard and Beehive Yard but the West side footway is seriously narrow and could do with widening right through although some parts of the Street are just not widen enough to take any extension of the footway. This should be a proirity in the works to the highway in Walcot Street and implemented as widely as possible.The footways should be laid with pennant paviours.
If the pedestrian crossing point is introduced opposite the Ladymead Fountain and not opposite the Paragon Steps, it gives a lovely approach and view of the Ladymead from the East side of the street,as well as giveing as generous an area of pavement around and in front of the Fountain where none exists at present.In the past horses and carts had to be able to get up close to the trough to drink but now this is no longer necessary.
The first few rows of paviours around the base of the trough which extends into the street should be laid echoing the semicircular form of the fountain.These could be sets. 4 small low energy circular uplighters should be set into the footway approximately 150mm out from the base of the trough and equidistant from each other.
These would relate to the low circular downlighters proposed for the wall of the Paragon Steps.This would illuminate the outside of the trough at night, to promote safety,dissuade night time misuse and give a visual lead to the Paragon steps whilst highlighting the Fountain.

ARTIST:LEAD ARTIST + B%NES + Future Heritage

COST: Within budget for works to the highway.Any additional costs to be costed and fundraised as other. Lighting 4 x LED Footlight 50.000 hrs £ 900.00

4. SEATING

'Seats should be generously provided,especially on hilly routes and where there are likely to be elderly people.'PWRP
A 3 seater bench seat should be commissioned and sited to the North side of the fountain trough along the Paragon wall, to provide a resting place for pedestrians and a meeting place.Traders are not keen to have seating sited in front of shops as they feel this may effect trade.
The Fountain area is ideal and would catch the morning sun.Ladymead House, is a residential home for the elderly and patrons walk up and down Walcot Street en route to the City centre and back and would enjoy a sitting space. This seat would be contemporary but would predominantly use materials used in the Ladymead fountain.
Likewise a smaller 2 seater version could be sited to the South of the drinking fountain along the wall if the parking meter sign was resited.
These benches could contain bits of found architectural heritage as well as new stone to reflect the dual nature of Walcot Street with its feet,(or seats!) both in the past and in the future. Contemporary text or information could be carved into the front edge of the benches to mark and record the renovation to the Ladymead Fountain.
This could be a schools linked project to find the 'Haikus of Walcot Street'!

ARTIST: MARBLE AND STONEWORKS OF BATH BEN JONES/MATT CUDWORTH OTHER FURNITURE MAKERS/STONE WORKERS PENNY HAY PRODUCTION: Lead Artist to liaise with Penny Hay,Project Manager for Making Art Work, to create text with schools/poet. I day session to create Haikus for Walcot Street. Walcot Street Design Forum to select text. Bench/es to be fabricated and carved if appropriate, off site.

INSTALLATION: Artists/Makers to work with contractors to install during works programme.Ground preparation to be carried out to artist's specification by contractors. Artist to provide 5 year maintenance schedule.

FUNDING: As above COST: Estimated cost per bench inc carving £ 1.500.00 - 2.000.00 Poet for one day £ 200.00

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