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 historical andarchitectural importance, theconservation work was carriedout in a very specific mannerand supervised by a qualifiedconservation architect.

The condition of the fountainwas assessed as a first step.The condition report indicatedthat there was corrosion onmany parts of the fountain andmuch of the cast iron waseither damaged or missing,this included the ‘boy with thepaddle and urn’ which hadbeen vandalised and removedin the 1980s.

The fountain was made byCruikshanks and Co. DennyIron Works, but uses manyparts cast by the Sun Foundryof George Smith in Glasgow.By researching in archives,drawings of the originalfountain were found and thesehelped determine how thedamaged parts of the fountainshould be repaired and recast.

Historic Scotland carried out apaint analysis, which involvedtaking small scrapes of paintand looking at them under amicroscope. The resultsrevealed up to 33 layers of paintof differing colours, and thatoriginally gold leaf had beenapplied to various parts of thestructure. The colour schemeof the newly painted fountainwas selected to reflect theappearance that the fountainmight have had in the past.

The repair work was undertakenby a specialist contractor,Ballantine Bo’ness IronCompany Limited. In the 19thcentury there would have beenhundreds of foundries inCentral Scotland specialising incast iron work, tapping into thereadily available supply ofnatural materials. Today,Ballantine is one of only ahandful of iron works left in theUK that still has the expertiserequired to carry out suchspecialist repair work, and it isstill a family run business in its7th generation of ownership.Govan’s Aitken Fountain wascertainly in good companyduring its time at the foundry,its restoration taking placealongside lamp posts destinedfor Westminster in London androof tiles for the UK Houses ofParliament.

The restoration begins…

The fountain was removedfrom Govan Cross in 2010 andtaken to Ballantine’s workshopin Bo’ness.

Here it was blast cleaned usingspecial grit at a carefullycontrolled pressure to removethe paint layers whilst retainingthe fountain’s structural integrity.

The missing parts of the crownfinial on top of the roof and thedecorative fretwork to thecanopy arches were carefullycast and mechanically fixedtogether.

The badly corroded alligators(below right) within thefountain’s canopy were re-castusing the traditional ‘greensand’ technique. This requiresthe repair of one alligator tomake a mould. The mould ispressed into fine, moist sand ina frame to make an impressionof one half of the alligator. Thisis then combined with anotherframe of sand with a similarindent. The molten iron ispoured through a channel intothe enclosed cast, leaving aperfectly formed alligator oncecooled.

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 it’srightful place as the centrepiece of the Aitken MemorialFountain at Govan Cross.

The entire structure was handand spray painted. Gold leafwas applied to accentuate themain architectural features andthe previously obscured detailsof the memorial plaques werepicked out.

The fountain, in its deep red,gold and black livery, drew quitea crowd and much admirationas it returned to Govan Cross in2011, where it continues tostand as a landmark for futuregenerations.

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 withHistoric Scotland inpaint analysis andsourcing the SunFoundry patterns gaveus a great insight intothe care, skill and pridethat the Victorian castiron foundry workershad in producing thesehandsome objects.David Millar, Conservation Architect

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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 as far afield as Bo’ness,where they visited the foundry to see the Aitken Fountainbeing restored, and Summerlee Heritage Park where theycaught a glimpse of a 19th century ironworks and learnedabout the importance of iron to the Scottish economy.The students worked with a graphic design artist to decideon the layout and content of this page presenting their ownideas 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 Ballantine’s

‘Good going to Ballantine’sbecause we saw ourfountain and we seen it getrestored’Kimberley

All images taken by students from Govan High School

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.