The Aitken Memorial Fountain wasreturned, fully restored, to GovanCross in April 2011. Theconservation works cost £40,000to undertake and were madepossible thanks to fundingprovided by Glasgow City Counciland the Heritage Lottery Fundthrough Govan Cross TownscapeHeritage Initiative. The restorationof the Aitken Fountain, one ofGovan’s most recognisedlandmarks, forms a central part ofwider regeneration proposalsbeing implemented during2006-2016 to make Central Govanan attractive, vibrant andprosperous place to live, work,and visit.

Design by Cactus, Glasgow.

Memorial FountainGovan, 1884-2011

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Govan’s place in the past

The Aitken Memorial Fountain is a well known and muchloved landmark of Govan Cross. Dedicated to thememory of Doctor John Aitken, it has stood for morethan 120 years at the head of Water Row. In 2010,having fallen into a ruinous state of repair, the fountainbecame the focus of regeneration efforts led by GovanCross Townscape Heritage Initiative. Funding from theHeritage Lottery Fund and Glasgow City Council madea full restoration possible, and in the course of therestoration process many interesting discoveries weremade, not least the whereabouts of the fountain’smissing centre piece. The uncovered details arecollected here for current and future generations to shareand enjoy. Together they provide a fascinating glimpseinto the often harsh realities of days gone by, thecharacter of the Govan people and the architecture andhistory of the cast iron drinking fountain dedicated toone of Govan’s own.

Govan’s past is rich and itshistory is significant. From thereligious and politicalimportance of Govan in theDark Ages, to its hand loomweaving industry and theinternational significance of its19th century shipbuildingheritage, Govan has evolvedthrough cycles of immenseprosperity and decline. Thewealth and civic pride of itsheyday can still be seen today– reflected in the buildings andthe monuments to many of itsbenefactors. Dr Aitken was oneof those, who, though notmade famous for his wealth,made a significant difference toordinary people’s lives.

Dr John Aitken died on March11th 1880, just four days beforehis 42nd birthday. The deathcertificate records bronchialpneumonia, but many believedthat Aitken had driven himself toan early grave, due to overworkand his devotion to the poor.

Aitken was born in Govan in1838, his parents were theproprietors of the Stag Inn.No records exist of his earlyeducation but he went on tobecome an exceptionalmedical student, graduatingfrom the University of Glasgowby the age of 21 and studyingunder Dr Joseph Lister.Returning to Govan aftergraduation Aitken set up hissurgery at 178 Govan Road.

When Govan became a Burghin 1864, he was appointed thefirst Police Surgeon andMedical Officer based atOrkney Street Police Station.Aitken’s monthly reportshighlighting the Burgh’s health,make it clear that respiratorydiseases accounted for most

deaths and the mortality rateswere the highest for childrenunder five – a damning statistiche campaigned hard to reduce.He was at this time running anextensive practice, serving thecollieries at Ibrox and Drumoyneas well as the Burgh itself.

In the twenty years Aitkenpractised, Govan became aboom town. The populationgrew from 8,000 to 46,000 andit was an intense period ofchange. As the Burgh grewquickly the water and sanitationsystems could not cope,leading to outbreaks of diseaseand immense misery for theovercrowded population.

Dr Aitken worked hard for thepeople of Govan, and waspresented with a horse andcarriage ‘for his kind andunremitting attention to thepoor in their hour of need’.At the unveiling of his memorialfountain in 1884 it was said‘that the poor never wanted aphysician or surgeon withoutfee or reward as long as helived among them’.

We are extremely excited our great, greatgrandfather’s memorial is to be fully restored.John Gordon Aitken, 2010

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The cast iron drinking fountainis an important historic object,linking us to Victorian Govanand the living conditions thatexisted at that time. As a fittinglegacy to Dr Aitken, the fountainprovided a fresh water supplyto the people of Govan in thelate 19th and early 20th century.The water flowed from the urnthat sits underneath the cheruband was collected using a smallchained cup that is no longer afeature of the fountain today.

The cast iron figure or theputto, often referred to locallyas the Govan cherub, baby orboy, is the central feature ofthe fountain. The putto is acommon feature of ItalianRenaissance Art and was oftenmimicked in the Victoriandesign of these fountains. Theputto may signify a purposefuland watchful water carrier.

Other features of the fountain:

1. Boy with paddle and urn (Sun Foundry pattern no.8)

2. Alligator column connectors

3. Column finials

4. Arch faceplates with drip fret detail

5. Sectional fish scale roof

6. Crown terminal or finial

7. Memorial plaques/roundels/lunettes

8. Acanthus leaf capitals

9. Cast iron columns

The fountain has six memorialplaques including thededication to Dr John Aitken,the Govan Coat of Arms andthe fountain manufacturerCruikshanks & Co. The plaquesrepresenting the Freemasons,Manchester Unity of Oddfellowsand the Ancient Order ofForesters, suggest Aitken wasa subscribing member of theGovan courts and lodges ofthese societies. This fits withour understanding of Aitken’scharitable and compassionatecharacter. Known as FriendlySocieties, the memberssocialised together andsupported each other throughhard times, usually by providingsick pay or funeral expenses tofamilies in need.

While the Aitken MemorialFountain is typical of the styleof the late Victorian Period,what is unusual is that it is theonly known one of its type tobe cast by Cruikshanks & Co.Denny Iron Works.

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Restoring the fountain

A careful conservationapproach…

The Aitken drinking fountain isa Category B Listed monument.Reflecting its architectural andhistorical importance the conservation work to the fountainwas carried out in a very specificmanner and supervised by aqualified cast iron conservator.

The condition of the fountainwas assessed as a first step.The condition report indicatedthat there was active corrosionon many parts of the fountainand much of the cast iron waseither damaged or missing.This included the fountain’scentre piece ‘the boy with thepaddle and urn’.

The fountain design uses manyparts cast by the Sun Foundryof George Smith in Glasgow.By researching in archives,drawings of the original fountainwere found and these helpeddetermine how the damagedand missing parts of the fountain, such as the bowl, theputto and the crown finial,should be repaired and recast.

Historic Scotland then analysedsmall scrapes of the fountain’spaint under a microscope. The results revealed 33 layersof paint of differing colours including lots of Glasgow Corporation Green and someoriginal gold leaf. The colourscheme of the newly paintedfountain was selected toaccentuate the beautiful featuresof the fountain within the publicspace at Govan Cross.

Cast iron repair is a highly specialised process. The techniques and materials usedmust be determined based onthe qualities of cast iron and

not of modern day equivalentmaterials, such as steel. Castiron is a durable yet porousmetal that is prone to absorbatmospheric moisture and rustseasily. During repair, it must bedry-blasted with crushed garnetat a controlled temperature andthen primed and painted withinset timescales in order for themetal to be properly cleaned,sealed and protected from theelements.

In the 19th century, there werehundreds of foundries in CentralScotland specialising in castiron work. Today, only a smallhandful survive across the UK,a reflection of the skills that arebeing lost as manufacturingprocesses and consumertastes change. Retaining ourknowledge of traditional materials and their appropriaterepair and on-going maintenanceis vitally important if we are topreserve heritage assets likethe Aitken Fountain for futuregenerations to enjoy.

The restoration begins…

The fountain was carefully dismantled at Govan Cross in2010 and transported to theiron foundry for repair works.Here it was blast cleaned at acarefully controlled pressureand temperature to remove thecorrosion and the many layersof paint.

The missing parts of the crownfinial from the roof of the fountain and the decorative fretwork to the canopy archeswere carefully cast and mechanically fixed together.

The badly corroded alligatorswithin the fountain’s canopywere re-cast using the traditional‘green sand’ technique. This requires the repair of one alligator to make a mould. Themould is pressed into a frameof fine, moist sand with a clay-like consistency to makean impression of one half of thealligator. This is then combinedwith another frame of sand witha similar indent. The molteniron is poured through a channel into the enclosed cast,leaving a perfectly formed alligator once cooled.

he Govan Baby returns

The strangestthings can happen,usually when youleast expect it!That was the case on a sunnyday in August 2010, when aphone call to the Govan CrossTHI Team confirmed that themissing baby and bowl fromthe Aitken Memorial Fountainhad been found.

The story began a week or soearlier, when a newspaperarticle in Glasgow’s EveningTimes covered the restorationof the Aitken Memorial Fountainand the mystery of the missingbaby and bowl. The storydescribed how the ‘Govan baby’,which vanished in 1980s, wasto be recast as part of therestoration works and includeda detailed drawing of the originalpiece. It also highlighted that

the fountain’s restoration was akey priority for local peoplewho had been consulted onimprovements in their area.

Completely unexpectedly, thenewspaper was then contactedby Hugh Kinnaird, who hadhimself been left astonishedafter reading the article aboutthe ‘lost baby’. Mr Kinnaird hadused the statue as the centrepiece of his back garden pondfor 16 years, having bought itfrom an architectural salvageyard. Although he had movedhouse a few times, he hadalways taken the statue with himand he was delighted to give itback to the people of Govan.

And true to his word, the boywith his paddle, urn and bowlarrived back in time to berestored and reinstated to itsrightful place as the centrepiece of the Aitken MemorialFountain at Govan Cross.

The entire structure was thenprimed and painted. Gold leafwas applied to accentuate thefountain’s architectural featuresand the previously obscured details of the memorial plaqueswere picked out in black andbronze paint.

The fountain, in its deep red,gold and black livery, drew quitea crowd and much admiration as it returned toGovan Cross in 2011, where itcontinues to stand as a landmarkfor future generations.

Archive research helped identify the exact form of the fountain’smissing boy, bowl and pedestal. And then, in a most unlikely twistof fate – read on for more details - the original parts were found.These were repaired and connected together on a newly castpedestal following closely the pattern of the Sun Foundry.

Our work with Historic Scotland inpaint analysis and insourcing the SunFoundry patterns gaveus a great insight intothe care, skill and pridethat the Victorian castiron foundry workershad in producing thesehandsome objects.The Aitken Fountain’s Cast Iron Conservator.

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In 2011, the fountain’s restoration provided an opportunityfor a group of students from Govan High School to explorethe heritage and regeneration of Govan Cross and todiscover what meaning the fountain has to Govanites inthe past and today.

Their investigations took them to the foundry to see theAitken Fountain being restored, and to Summerlee HeritagePark, where they caught a glimpse of a 19th century ironworks and learned about the importance of iron to theScottish economy. The students worked with a graphic design artist to decide on the layout and content of thispage presenting their own ideas about the fountain and its meaning to them.

In 2010, young people from the former Hills Trust PrimarySchool in Govan worked with artist Kenny Bayne to producea fantastic set of posters documenting the fountain’srestoration. The posters were put on public display duringthe restoration process and ensured that the localcommunity was kept up to date on the whereabouts oftheir much loved local landmark!

And back in 2009, artist Colin Begg, used the AitkenFountain’s missing baby to inspire children and adults toshare their memories of Govan and their hopes andaspirations for its revitalised future. The young people sentpostcards to the missing baby with drawings of theirimagined vision for Govan Cross and a personal messageto the baby, whilst the adults recorded their thoughts as anaudio commentary. An animated film “The Govan Baby”was produced as a result with the missing baby symbolisingall that there is to rediscover about Govan.

On the fountain

‘We’re fromGovan andour history isimportant’Kimberley

On the visit to the foundry

‘Good going to the foundrybecause we saw our fountainand we seen it get restored’Kimberley

All images taken by students from Govan High School