A memorial fountain alonside A428 in Harleston Village, Northampton.
Posted by: greysman
N 52° 16.525 W 000° 58.128
30U E 638578 N 5793615
A wayside fountain placed in memory of Charlotte Countess Spencer by her husband.
Waymark Code: WMB7QN
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/16/2011
Views: 5
This is a large fountain, water trough, made of marble and stonework. The dedication panel has an earl's coronet (eight strawberry leaves (four visible) and eight "pearls" raised on stalks, of which five are visible) above the Spencer family coat-of-arms and the inscription:
In Memory Of
Charlotte Countess Spencer
Born 28 Sept 1835 Died 31 Oct 1903
By Her Husband
1904
She that I loved for God's dumb creatures cared
Felt for their pain and in their pleasure shared
This wayside fountain in the years to be
Will quench their thirst and keep her memory
There is no visible way of topping up the water but there is an overflow built into the trough at the right-hand end. In the bank behind there are two flag stones covering a tank of water, perhaps spring fed. At the moment the water surface is covered with duckweed. This type of fountain would have been a common sight in the days before motor transport.