Cattle Trough and Drinking Fountain
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1459201
- Date first listed:
- 08-Nov-2018
- List Entry Name:
- Cattle Trough and Drinking Fountain
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1459201
- Date first listed:
- 08-Nov-2018
- List Entry Name:
- Cattle Trough and Drinking Fountain
- Location Description:
- Cattle trough sited on the north side of the road, 80m south west of The Spaniards Inn, Spaniards Road, Hampstead, NW3 7JJ. Approximate grid reference: TQ2660387172.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Camden (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ2660287172
Summary
Cattle trough and drinking fountain, about 1916.
Reasons for Designation
The cattle trough and drinking fountain, Spaniards Road, Hampstead is listed for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a good example of one of the MDFCTA’s standardised designs, with integrated drinking fountain.
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent, and now rare, reminder of the now-vanished presence of animals on our streets.
Group value:
* with a number of listed buildings in the vicinity, including Heath End House and Evergreen Hill (Grade II, NHLE 1286705), the garden wall to Evergreen Hill (Grade II, NHLE 1246091).
History
In the C19 special provision began to be made for drinking troughs for cattle, horses and dogs, and these were often provided by charitable associations. The best known of these was The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association (MDFCTA), founded in 1859 as The Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, the name altered in 1867 to include troughs. They were responsible for over a thousand troughs in Britain and overseas, about half of which were located in London. Early troughs of iron or wood are particularly rare, and were usually replaced from the 1860s by the more familiar and more enduring granite examples, mainly dating from the late C19. Although generally following a simple design, more elaborate examples do exist. Some designs include ornamentation, and can also be constructed of alternative materials, such as Portland stone or red granite. Troughs are the most numerous reminders of the now-vanished presence of animals in city life, and in this motorised age they possess an added poignancy as a result.
This example is found on Spaniards Road, Hampstead Heath. There is no date engraved on the structure, and this trough does not appear on any map of the area prior to 1952. The MDFCTA archives suggest that this trough may be structure number 2064 in their records, which would give a potential date of erection of 1916, but the possibility that the structure has been moved from its original location cannot be ruled out.
Details
Cattle trough and drinking fountain, about 1916.
MATERIALS: granite.
DESCRIPTION: this example would appear to conform to the “1d” design type, and is approximately 9ft 6in long. It is made from granite, and consists of a water tank resting on squat piers, with a gabled west end which allows for an integrated drinking fountain on the west face. The spout and pump mechanism is missing. An inscription bearing the name of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association is present on the east face of the tank.
Sources
Books and journals
Davies, P, Troughs and Drinking Fountains (1989),
Websites
Metroplitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association, accessed 23 July 2018 from http://mdfcta.co.uk/details/t120.html
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 15-Dec-2025 at 11:23:52.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2025. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2025. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry