Palingswick Fountain Set to Flow Again

---

Historic obelisk in King Street receives restoration grant

Grant received from the Heritage of London Trust

April 21, 2023

A neglected Victorian fountain outside what is now West London Free School in Hammersmith’s King Street is set to be restored after receiving a grant from Heritage of London Trust.

The fountain, a foursided granite obelisk sitting on the south side of King Street was erected in 1887, as a memorial to S. L. Swaab, Esq, who lived close to the then Palingswick House, which was originally built as a family home in 1849.

The fountain is inscribed, "His knowledge like a spring of refreshing water flowing ever during life for the relief of suffering".

In recent years it has fallen into neglect, but now independent charity Heritage of London Trust has teamed up with the Hammersmith Society to fund its restoration.

The trust says the total cost of the project will be in the region of £20,000 + VAT, depending on the cost of the Thames Water connection.

Heritage of London Trust has given a £15,000 grant and The Hammersmith Society has pledged £1,000. Hammersmith and Fulham Council is supportive of the project but is yet to confirm its contribution.

The trust says the (possibly Cornish) granite fountain is structurally sound and in overall reasonable condition. It is a four-sided obelisk on a two-step octagonal base, with two stepping blocks for children and an integrated dog bowl at the base.

Currently, the original taps are missing on two sides. One of the original taps remains in position although the push mechanism no longer works. The fixings have failed and the stone is cracked in several areas. There is carbon staining on all sections of the fountain, but especially heavy staining around the joints between sections.

The fountain has not always been well maintained

To restore it to its former glory, the stonework will be poulticed and then dismantled, new piping installed, the stonework repointed and repaired where necessary.

Dr Nicola Stacey, Director of the Heritage of London Trust says: “This is a wonderful example of a Victorian drinking fountain in an ideal location with lots of footfall. Once restored it will be well used including by local school children and families: it even has steps for smaller children to reach the taps and a dog bowl.

“These fountain projects make a really important contribution to reducing single use plastic and are such an obvious win for everyone.”

The planned restoration is part of Heritage of London’s continuing fountains project, which aims to restore these much needed amenities in boroughs across London.

The trust says many of our historic fountains were switched off in the 1960s and 1970s and subsequently fell victim to vandalism and neglect. Today only a handful still work.

It adds, “ Restoring them brings back vitality to a public space, offers an environmentally friendly public resource, educates and inspires children and creates a sense of local pride.”

The trust is London’s independent heritage charity, set up in 1980 by the Greater London Council to rescue historic buildings and monuments.

Its work involves identifying projects, commissioning condition surveys, giving grants and guiding the restoration of each site from beginning to end. Its focus is on heritage at risk.

In the past, it has funded projects in historic buildings across Hammersmith and Fulham including Fulham Palace, Emery Walker's House, Bush Theatre and a number of churches.

It says, " London’s lost histories inspire and delight. We research the amazing stories behind every project and use them to brighten our surroundings and our lives."

Samuel Swaab was born in 1821 in Amsterdam, arrived in London in 1849 and became a British naturalised subject, living first in Bloomsbury, followed by Number 266 King Street in Hammersmith. His occupation was an ‘Oculist (Own System)’.

A catalogue for the 1862 International Exhibition has an entry in ‘Class IV - Animal and Vegetable Substances used in Manufactures’ as follows: “Swaab, S. L., Oculist, 9 Hunter Street, Brunswick Square. - Prepared India fibres, flax, hemp, and fibres converted in silk and cotton.” It’s uncertain what use was made of these fabrics.

After his death, the fountain was erected as a gift to local people from Mrs Swaab, at a cost of £115.

Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.