Popular fountain returns to Wigan park after being restored to all its glory

The Coalbrookdale fountain was removed from Mesnes Park in February so essential work could be carried out.

It was thought the project would take around six weeks, but extra work was needed and the fountain’s return to the park was delayed.

It is now back in situ in time for a large party being held at Mesnes Park this Saturday to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

Dave Lyon, Wigan Council’s assistant director for environment and housing operations, said: “The Coalbrookdale fountain has been returned to Mesnes Park following extensive restoration work, which included stripping the decorative components off the fountain body and sand blasting them back to bare metal followed by multiple coats of paint.

“This work was undertaken by a specialist company with the goal of restoring and preserving the fountain’s historic features. The fountain opened in 2013 and due to the constant exposure to water, planned maintenance such as this is a necessity to keep the fountain to an excellent visual standard.”

The replica fountain was created by restoration experts from Lost Art during the regeneration of the park in 2013, using drawings of the original fountain and measurements of a surviving Coalborookdale fountain in Ireland.

The same team carried out the restoration work at its workshop in Rufford, where the fountain was carefully taken apart so each piece could be cleaned, painted and put back in its place.

As work got under way earlier this year, Dominic Liptrot, from Lost Art, explained it was better to paint the fountain indoors, rather than doing it outdoors and letting the cast iron get wet once the existing paint was stripped off.

He said: “I go into Mesnes Park and see people having wedding pictures taken there. We want it doing right long-term.

“I know it’s disappointing to take it away, but we would have to turn it off while we were painting. At this time of year, we really don’t want to be painting cast iron and cleaning it off outdoors. It’s to get a better job.”