With the second lockdown looming l thought l had better get back into my daily exercise routine and battle against the elements in my walk up the hill.
Time to pause to discuss fly-tipping, festive plans to promote the city and the possibility of a new flowerbed in the centre of Laura Place?!
Freelance Journalist, broadcaster, columnist and local historian. Director of Bath Newseum. Married and lives in Bath.
Interested in local history, architecture and visual display in museums and urban spaces.
View all posts by Richard Wyatt
4 Comments
the fountain isn’t original so I mind less if they turn it into a flowerbed; my thought is that a lot depends on the cost to repair/maintain, because if this is prohibitive, it would perhaps be better to concentrate on new water systems which are more readily sustainable.
A flowerbed would be pretty, the fountain when working is also pretty. I assume they would plant up the bowl the fountain plays into and perhaps have some central statuary or feature.
A cheaper alternative to the fountain might be to replace the fountain itself with a water pump of lower power to continually change the water, and make it into a water garden, perhaps with fish, lilies, flags, and other water flowers, chosen to present interest all year round, so things with interesting seedheads like flags, and cat-tails, perhaps with ferns at the edge? that would continue to celebrate Bath’s water.
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A two-tiered wild flower display, would look fabulous.
Remember the display at the top of Wellsway roundabout? Everyone loved it.
You won’t have a problem with litter, and fairy liquid poured into the water, and will save money. It’s a no brainer!
Hilary Taylor
PS love your daily musings
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Really?! A flowerbed?! It’s hard to imagine a more insipid suburban idea! All the great European spaces (Amalienborg in Copenhagen https://parg.co/bKrg or the Markt in Delft https://parg.co/bKrF, or the Piazza Duomo in Syracusa https://parg.co/bKrW) spring into my mind) are empty (or possibly contain a fine equestrian statue but we may not have a spare one of those) and let the architecture speak for itself. Get rid of the dreary fountain, and the traffic, and If there must be fountains start from scratch: I’m thinking of eg the new ones in Granary Sq at Kings Cross.in front of the old Telford Warehouses.https://parg.co/bKrj though there are better examples, eg Nice.
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oh no, not some awful modern fountain, what an affront to the graceful buildings! It would be like seeing one’s formidable grandmother on a skateboard! at least the extant fountain is moderately timeless in style. Statuary would work. a graceful tree would work. A piece of Roman style architecture would work; I wouldn’t object to an updating of the original idea of a column after the manner of Trajan’s column perhaps depicting the story of Pride and Prejudice [or is that a little bit too twee?]. A flowerbed has the advantage of being inoffensive though I’d as soon see a water feature.
A copy of the drinking fountain from the pump room might be nice, though I don’t suppose the same water could be easily tapped.
the fountain isn’t original so I mind less if they turn it into a flowerbed; my thought is that a lot depends on the cost to repair/maintain, because if this is prohibitive, it would perhaps be better to concentrate on new water systems which are more readily sustainable.
A flowerbed would be pretty, the fountain when working is also pretty. I assume they would plant up the bowl the fountain plays into and perhaps have some central statuary or feature.
A cheaper alternative to the fountain might be to replace the fountain itself with a water pump of lower power to continually change the water, and make it into a water garden, perhaps with fish, lilies, flags, and other water flowers, chosen to present interest all year round, so things with interesting seedheads like flags, and cat-tails, perhaps with ferns at the edge? that would continue to celebrate Bath’s water.
A two-tiered wild flower display, would look fabulous.
Remember the display at the top of Wellsway roundabout? Everyone loved it.
You won’t have a problem with litter, and fairy liquid poured into the water, and will save money. It’s a no brainer!
Hilary Taylor
PS love your daily musings
Really?! A flowerbed?! It’s hard to imagine a more insipid suburban idea! All the great European spaces (Amalienborg in Copenhagen https://parg.co/bKrg or the Markt in Delft https://parg.co/bKrF, or the Piazza Duomo in Syracusa https://parg.co/bKrW) spring into my mind) are empty (or possibly contain a fine equestrian statue but we may not have a spare one of those) and let the architecture speak for itself. Get rid of the dreary fountain, and the traffic, and If there must be fountains start from scratch: I’m thinking of eg the new ones in Granary Sq at Kings Cross.in front of the old Telford Warehouses.https://parg.co/bKrj though there are better examples, eg Nice.
oh no, not some awful modern fountain, what an affront to the graceful buildings! It would be like seeing one’s formidable grandmother on a skateboard! at least the extant fountain is moderately timeless in style. Statuary would work. a graceful tree would work. A piece of Roman style architecture would work; I wouldn’t object to an updating of the original idea of a column after the manner of Trajan’s column perhaps depicting the story of Pride and Prejudice [or is that a little bit too twee?]. A flowerbed has the advantage of being inoffensive though I’d as soon see a water feature.
A copy of the drinking fountain from the pump room might be nice, though I don’t suppose the same water could be easily tapped.