George Smith: A rare cast iron fountain

Founded by George Smith at 64 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow, they advertised themselves as ‘Art Metal Workers, Iron Founders and Sanitary Engineers’, and ‘Artistic Iron Founders’, and displayed their wares at their show yard in Bothwell Street. By 1863, the firm had expanded to include offices in London’s Strand and Dublin’s Mountjoy Square, with its agents Thomas Begg based at 37 Southampton Street, Strand, and Thomas F, Horgan based at 5 Greenville Street, Dublin. In subsequent years the firm was to expand further, with offices in Newcastle (at W.H. Walker & Co’s Percy Iron Works), Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Also known as the Sun Foundry, they rivalled Macfarlane’s and McDowall Steven & Co in their production of ornamental ironwork for buildings, drinking fountains and bandstands

Garden fountain