The Saracen Fountain, so named because it was cast by Walter Macfarlane & Co at the Saracen Works in Possilpark, has stood in its current site in Dennistoun, in the east end of Glasgow for the last 110 years.
According to the Macfarlane Castings Catalogue, this cast iron spray fountain is model no. 130 and is 37′ 4″ high, with a 42′ diameter at the outer basin. Above the main basin, at the bottom of the three level ornamentation, are four seated life-size classical figures representing art, science, literature and commerce, each sitting on a plinth decorated by wave patterns and seashells. In between the figures are archways, each with a roundel containing a lion head mask, spraying water from the mouth into the lower basin. There are also panels showing the 12 signs of the zodiac at the base of an octagon containing a circular peristyle of composite orders in the middle section. The exterior of the top basin is surrounded by urchins with water coming from pipes held in their mouths. And at the top, there are four inverted stylised dolphins who also spout water down into the basin and beyond, topped by a decorative quatrefoil. The figures and ornaments were modelled by the Sculptor David Watson Stevenson, known for his bronze statue of William Wallace at the National Monument in Stirling.
The fountain was cast for the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1901 at Kelvingrove Park, east of what is now the Art Galleries, close to Kelvin Way. The fountain remained in the park until the end of the exhibition and was later moved by Glasgow Corporation to Alexandra Park in 1914, where it remains. This was the second of three of these fountains. The first was created in 1899 at a cost of £1,000 in honour of Peter Walker, a local Brewer from the town of Warrington. However, it was scrapped in 1942 to help with the war effort. A third from 1905 is known as the “Sammy Marks” fountain, and is located in the zoological gardens in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Saracen fountain became A-listed in 1992, and by 2000, it had been somewhat restored, with some of the water jets being operational. It has gone through various colourways over the years, with exposed paint layers revealing a red oxide base, and varying shades of green, blue and gold, later, white and gold, blue and gold with accents of black, and the current scheme of black and gold accents. Sadly, the fountain is in a very poor state of repair, and funds have been sought to repair it. Most recently, a new campaign has begun, again in the hope of raising money to refurbish this important monument to Glasgow’s industrial heritage, the only one of its kind in Scotland.
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