Dolphin Casting from Stroud High Street Drinking Fountain

A drinking fountain was erected at the top of Stroud High in the 1830s and stood there for over 100 years. It consisted of a central stone obelisk and bowl with brass or bronze dolphins on the four sides.

One story of its demise is that it was knocked down by a lorry during WW2. Another other story suggests it was removed to make room for road improvements. One of the four dolphins later came to light and was donated to the Museum in the Park in Stroud, where it can be seen today.

The castings were purported to have been made by John Ferrabee at Phoenix Ironworks and the foundry certainly had the capability at the time. Edwin Budding had been manufacturing his Pepperbox Pistols from gun metal (consisting of copper, tin, and zinc) at Thrupp Mill around 1830.

Read more about the fountain here.