This is why the popular fountain has been removed from a park in Wigan

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

It is being done by restoration experts from Lost Art at their workshop in Rufford and is expected to take around six weeks.

It was the same team that produced the replica fountain during the regeneration of the park in 2013, using drawings of the original fountain and measurements of a surviving Coalborookdale fountain in Ireland.

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.”

He said they would be able to take the fountain apart in the workshop, clean and paint each piece individually, and then put it back together.

He said: “We will be cleaning out any of the pipe work, painting it and sending it back as it would have been when it was first put in the park.”

Wiganer Dominic has fond memories of spending time at Mesnes Park as a child and knows how much the replica fountain is enjoyed by visitors, so is delighted to be able to work on it.

Wigan Council’s assistant director of environment Dave Lyon said: “Making sure that Wigan borough’s green spaces remain as well kept as possible is so important to us and we know how important this is to our residents too.

“That’s why it’s so important that the essential restoration work of Coalbrookdale fountain, which sits in our Green Flag-awarded Mesnes Park, takes place.

“Works on the fountain – which includes recoating and painting – is expected to take six weeks and we are looking forward to seeing it back in situ and to its full glory when works are complete.”

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