Conservation and preservation works will begin early next month to refurbish the much-loved Berwick Fountain on Cork City’s Grand Parade.
The Berwick Fountain will also become a more prominent feature on the street by night as an LED lighting system is to be installed by Cork City Council.
The fountain, which dates to 1860, was erected by Walter Berwick, an important figure in the Cork judiciary, as a token of his gratitude to the city’s people. The fountain was designed by Sir John Benson, who also designed the fountain in the English Market.
The work will take place over an 8-10 week period and will involve a comprehensive cleaning, treating and renovating of all stonework of this key city centre feature. Hoarding will be installed around the fountain during this period and the work will be overseen by the Cork City Council Architects Department.
Following the renovation works, the Berwick fountain will be lit in a warm white colour which will highlight its classic features. The colours can also be changed individually on each lamp as occasion demands.
The Lord Mayor, Cllr Tony Fitzgerald said: “The Berwick fountain is much loved by the people of Cork and is a landmark where generations of young people have gathered. It is fantastic to see all the work being done at the moment on the city’s architectural heritage during this the European Year of Cultural Heritage”.
“The lighting up of the fountain will also respond to one of the recommendations from the international Purple Flag night time economy assessment team who suggested the illumination of key features in the city centre when they visited last year”.
The conservation works follows on from renovation works to the National Monument and to the Fr Matthew Statue in recent years. In addition, extensive conservation and lighting works are also underway on St Patricks Bridge.
The Berwick Fountain upgrade works, totalling €38,000, will be funded from the City Centre Fund.
The Berwick Fountain illumination will add to the necklace of historic buildings and features which have been lit up recently, for example the former Model School building on Anglesea St. has been illuminated by the OPW as part of the Court Services Building redevelopment and 97 South Mall (former TCH building) has recently been illuminated by JCD.
