Datchet
LocationOn Datchet Green.
InscriptionERECTED TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE OF DATCHET
BY THE LADY GEORGIANA NEEDHAM OF DATCHET HOUSE 1886
InscriptionLET HIM THAT IS
ATHIRST COME
REV. XXII 17
InscriptionI WILL
GIVE UNTO HIM
THAT IS ATHIRST
OF THE FOUNTAIN OF
THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY
REV. XXI 6
InscriptionDRINK BOTH YE AND
YOUR CATTLE
2 KINGS III 17
InscriptionTHOU GAVEST THEM WATER
FOR THEIR THIRST
NEH IX 20
MDFCTA number
Type and sizeFountain special design
Original locationIn the centre of the village.
Date erected1886
CommentsThis is almost certainly not an MDFCTA fountain and has been included for completeness only. Lady Needham, daughter of the Earl of Kilmorey, lived at Datchet House and was the grandest lady in the village apart from the Duchess of Buccleuch of Ditton Park. In 1886 she was in her ninetieth year and her sisters who had lived with her reached similar great ages. The drinking fountain is a typically philanthropic Victorian monument, bearing biblical quotations on the subject of water while providing bowls for dogs and horses as well as villagers. The inscription round the bowl records that it was the gift of the Lady Needham of Datchet House to the people of Datchet. It is made from Aberdeen granite, a very fashionable stone at the time; some of the grandest Victorian memorials in the churchyard are also made from it, as well as decorative columns in the church. Originally it was surmounted by a light and sited right in the centre of the village, as seen in the photo below. By the mid-20th century it had become an obstruction to traffic and was in danger of damage itself, and was removed to the grounds of Churchmead School where it remained forgotten. Recently it was restored (although the light was lost and a new top had to be made) by the Barker Bridge House Trust and brought back to the village centre, although in a safe place on North Green. The fountain is close to this cattle trough.