Swanage (click on photograph to bring up bigger/better version).

All photographs by Paul Snelling - thanks, Paul.

	Two pumps by the old Swanage town gaol, Dorset. All that remains of the one on the left is its stone housing, but there's evidence of piercings in the stone which could have accommodated a handle and spout, now lost. The gaol itself carries a date of 1803. The quite grand pump on the right is very solidly built from cast iron, although its handle is broken. Swanage Museum has confirmed that it was installed in 1881 by George Burt, and connected to the public spring known as Frogwell. Another version of the story has come to light in "Lesser Known Swanage" written by Julie Musk and published by Roving Press.in 2009. "The stone pump to the left of the Lock-Up has lost all its working parts - perhaps they went for scrap in the War or the pump arrived as ballast from some place else. It is unsure whether the metal pump on the right ever functioned, though a spring runs underground. Probably Burt sited them here simply fo visual effect." George Burt (1816-1894) came from a Swanage stone merchant family, and with John Mowlem developed the business "Mowlem, Burt and Freeman". The company grew, and was contracted to maintain the masonry of all government properties in London. Eventually it become one of the largest construction companies in the UK, Mowlem. Burt used the London connection to scavenge many architecturally interesting features for re-erection in Swanage. Apparently, many of Swanage's cast iron bollards were originally made for London boroughs, (and still carry their names), so it's possible that the pump also originated in London.
	Markings: None, on either. Manufacturers: Unk.
	A small pump at Newton Manor, Swanage. Markings: Unk. Manufacturer: Unk.

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