2015

SJ8398 : Jubilee Fountain, Albert Square

taken 9 years ago, near to Manchester, England

Jubilee Fountain, Albert Square
Jubilee Fountain, Albert Square
The hexagonal granite fountain with bronze decorative features which stands in the foreground of this photograph was commissioned in the 60th year of Queen Victoria’s reign, the fountain also commemorates the supply of Manchester’s drinking water from Thirlmere in the Lake District, a feat of Victorian engineering. The fountain was subject to some criticism and in the 1920s was moved to Heaton Park where it remained until 1986 when it was returned to Albert Square (LinkExternal link Manchester Art Galleries). It was sculpted by John Cassidy.

Behind the fountain is the grade II-listed statue of John Bright LinkExternal link , most famous for battling the Corn Laws and founding the Anti-Corn Law League. Further back is the squares’ largest monument, The Albert Memorial (see SJ8398 : Manchester, Albert Memorial). Completed in 1865, Manchester's Albert Memorial was the first of several Albert Memorials around the United Kingdom, and it bears a noticeable similarity to the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, London, which was completed some seven years after the Mancunian monument.
Manchester, Albert Square

The creation of Albert Square arose out of a project by Manchester Corporation's Monuments Committee to erect a memorial to Prince Albert who had died of typhoid in 1861. The area in which the square is situated was once derelict land and an area of dense housing near the Town Yard and the River Tib. The square, named after the Prince Consort, was laid out to provide a space for this memorial (SJ8398 : Manchester, Albert Memorial) in 1863–67. Work on the town hall, which now dominates the square, began in 1868 and was completed in 1877.

The centre of Albert Square was originally laid out in the form of a traffic circle and a group of bus stops occupied the western part. In 1987 the square was redesigned and the eastern side in front of the town hall was pedestrianised. The square was laid with fan-shaped granite setts, York stone paving and 'heritage'-style cast-iron street furniture.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Manchester [1646] · Square [737] · Grade II Listed [455] · Albert Square [325] · John Rylands Library [182] ·
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Grid Square
SJ8398, 3266 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Wednesday, 18 February, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 20 February, 2015
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 838 981 [100m precision]
WGS84: 53:28.7839N 2:14.6980W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 838 981
View Direction
South-southwest (about 202 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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