Fountains were very common in the open spaces and at the crossways in Pompeii. They were supplied by leaden pipes from the reservoirs, and had little ornament except a human or animal head, from the mouth of which it was arranged that the water should issue. Not only did simple running fountains exist, but the remains of jets d’eau have been found; and a drawing exists representing a vase with a double jet of water, standing on a pedestal placed in what is supposed to have been the impluvium of a house. There was also a jet d’eau at the eastern end of the peristyle of the Fullonica at Pompeii.
As among the Greeks, so with the early Celts, traces of superstitious beliefs and usages with relation to fountains can be traced in monumental and legendary remains. Near the village of Primaleon in Brittany was a very remarkable monument,—one possibly unique, as giving distinct proof of the existence of an ancient cult of fountains. Here is a dolmen composed of a horizontal table supported by two stones only, one at each end. All the space beneath this altar is occupied by a long square basin formed of large flat stones, which receives a fountain of water. At Lochrist is another vestige of the Celtic cult of fountains. Beneath the church, and at the foot of the hill upon which it is built, is a sacred fountain, near which is erected an ancient chapel, which with its ivy-covered walls has a most romantic appearance. A Gothic vault protects this fountain. Miraculous virtues are still attributed to its water, and on certain days the country people still come with offerings to draw it (see La Poix de Freminville, Antiquités de la Bretagne, i. p. 101). In the enchanted forest of Brochelande, so famous from its connexion with Merlin, was the fountain of Baranton, which was said to possess strange characteristics. Whoever drew water from it, and sprinkled the steps therewith, produced a tremendous storm of thunder and hail, accompanied with thick darkness.
Christianity transferred to its own uses the ancient religious feeling concerning fountains. Statues of the Virgin or of saints were erected upon the rude structures that collected the water and preserved its purity. There is some uniformity in the architectural characteristics of these structures during the middle ages. A very common form in rural districts was that in which the fountain was reached by descending steps (fontaine grotte). A large basin received the water, sometimes from a spout, but often from the spring itself. This basin was covered by a sort of porch or vault, with at times moulded arches and sculptured figures and escutcheons. On the bank of the Clain at Poitiers is a fountain of this kind, the Fontaine Joubert, which though restored in 1597 was originally a structure of the 14th century. This kind of fountain is frequently decorated with figures of the Virgin or of saints, or with the family arms of its founder; often, too, the water is the only ornament of the structure, which bears a simple inscription. A large number of these fountains are to be found in Brittany and indeed throughout France, and the great antiquity of some of them is proved by the superstitions regarding them which still exist amongst the peasantry. A form more common in populous districts was that of a large open basin, round, square, polygonal, or lobed in form, with a columnar structure at the centre, from the lower part of which it was arranged that spouts should issue, playing into an open basin, and supplying vessels brought for the purpose in the cleanest and quickest manner. The columns take very various forms, from that of a simple regular geometrical solid, with only grotesque masks at the spouts, to that of an elaborate and ornate Gothic structure, with figures of virgins, saints and warriors, with mouldings, arches, crockets and finials. At Provins there is a fountain said to be of the 12th century, which is in form an hexagonal vase with a large column in the centre, the capital of which is pierced by three mouths, which are furnished with heads of bronze projecting far enough to cast the water into the basin. In the public market-place at Brunswick is a fountain of the 15th century, of which the central structure is made of bronze. Many fountains are still existing in France and Germany which, though their actual present structure may date no earlier than the 15th or 16th century, have been found on the place of, and perhaps may almost be considered as restorations of, pre-existing fountains. Except in Italy few fountains are of earlier date than the 14th century. Two of that date are at the abbey of Fontaine Daniel, near Mayenne, and another, of granite, is at Limoges. Some of these middle-age fountains are simple, open reservoirs enclosed in structures which, however plain, still carry the charm that belongs to the stone-work of those times. There is one of this kind at Cully, Calvados, walled on three sides, and fed from the spring by two circular openings. Its only ornamentation is a small empty niche with mouldings. At Lincoln is a fountain of the time of Henry VIII., in front of the church of St Mary Wickford. At Durham is one of octangular plan, which bears a statue of Neptune.
The decay of architectural taste in the later centuries is shown by the fountain of Limoges. It is in form a rock representing Mount Parnassus, upon which are carved in relief Apollo, the horse Pegasus, Philosophy and the Nine Muses. At the top Apollo, in the 16th-century costume, plays a harp. Rocks, grass and sheep fill up the scene.
Purely ornamental fountains and jets d’eau are found in or near many large cities, royal palaces and private seats. The celebrated Fontana di Trevi, at Rome, was erected early in the 18th century under Pope Clement XII., and has all the characteristics of decadence. La Fontana Paolina and those in the piazza of St Peter’s are perhaps next in celebrity to that of Trevi, and are certainly in better taste. At Paris the Fontaine des Innocens (the earliest) and those of the Place Royal, of the Champs Elysées and of the Place de la Concorde are the most noticeable. The fountain of the lions and other fountains in the Alhambra palace are, with their surroundings, a very magnificent sight. The largest jets d’eau are those at Versailles, at the Sydenham Crystal Palace and at San Ildefonso.
About the earliest drawing of any drinking fountain in England occurs in Moxon’s Tutor to Astronomie and Geographie (1659); it is “surmounted by a diall, which was made by Mr John Leak, and set upon a composite column at Leadenhall corner, in the majoralty of Sir John Dethick, Knight.” The water springs from the top and base of the column, which stands upon a square pedestal and bears four female figures, one at least of which represents the costume of the period.
In the East the public drinking fountains are a very important institution. In Cairo alone there are three hundred. These “sebeels” are not only to be seen in the cities, but are plentiful in the fields and villages.
The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain Association (1859) has done much to provide facilities in London for both man and beast to get water to drink in the streets. And in the United States liberal provision has also been made by private and public enterprise.
FOUNTAINS ABBEY, one of the most celebrated ecclesiastical ruins in England. It lies in the sequestered valley of the river Skell, 3 m. S.W. of the city of Ripon in Yorkshire. The situation is most beautiful. The little Skell descends from the uplands of Pateley Moor to the west a clear swift stream, traversing a valley clothed with woods, conspicuous among which are some ancient yew trees which may have sheltered the monks who first sought retreat here. Steep rocky hills enclose the vale. Mainly on the north side of the stream, in an open glade, rise the picturesque and extensive ruins, the church with its stately tower, and the numerous remnants of domestic buildings which enable the great abbey to be almost completely reconstructed in the mind. The arrangements are typical of a Cistercian house (see [Abbey]). Building began in earnest about 1135, and was continued steadily until the middle of the 13th century, after which the only important erection was Abbot Huby’s tower (c. 1500). The demesne of Studley Royal (marquess of Ripon) contains the ruins. It is in part laid out in the formal Dutch style, the work of John Aislabie, lord of the manor in the early part of the 18th century. Near the abbey is the picturesque Jacobean mansion of Fountains Hall.