A plaque on the base states that the fountain was presented to the town by Thomas Macfarlane. Unfortunately, there seems to be very little information about who he was, although his great-grandaughter did switch the fountain back on after its restoration. (The 1911 census has a wine and spirit merchant of that name living in the district.)
The fountain itself bears a clear foundry mark: Coalbrookdale. Located in the Ironbridge gorge, and at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, the Coalbrookdale company was founded by Abraham Darby. It had begun making cast-iron rails in the eighteenth century and achieved fame for the gorge's famous Iron Bridge, the world's first cast-iron bridge. The boiler and engine for Trevithick's steam locomotive were made here. In the nineteenth century, it made everything from stoves to furniture to shop fronts. Not least, the company produced much decorative ironwork, ranging from gates for Hyde Park to this lovely fountain.
