Wellington Fountain

Wellington Fountain is a listed heritage structure at Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Chowk near Kala Ghoda in Fort, Mumbai, which is part of Mumbai's Victorian ensemble that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was erected in 1865 to commemorate the visits of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who came to India in 1801 and 1804.[1][2]

Wellington Fountain
Wellington Fountain at S.P Mukherjee Chowk, Maharashtra Police Headquarters (behind)
LocationKala Ghoda
Coordinates18.925594°N 72.832531°E / 18.925594; 72.832531
AreaFort, Mumbai
Built1894
Architectural style(s)Neoclassical architecture
Location of Wellington Fountain in Mumbai
Wellington Fountain (India)

The fountain is built in Neoclassical style with basalt. It has two tiers and the lower tier has eight bas reliefs depicting the duke's victories. The top tier is made out of metal and features cast iron leaves. There are Latin inscriptions on the fountain that celebrate the achievements of the duke.[3]

In 2016-17, a team led by the conservation architect Vikas Dilawari restored the fountain, and multiple layers of paint were removed from the basalt structure.[4] However, the water engineering system was intact at the time of restoration.[5] The project was funded by Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, and was awarded the Honourable Mention under the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.[1][6]

The bas-reliefs on the lower tier depicting the achievements of the duke.

References
  1. "Mumbai: Colaba's 152-year-old Wellington Fountain is all brand new". mid-day. February 19, 2017.
  2. Kidambi, Prashant; Kamat, Manjiri; Dwyer, Rachel (October 20, 2019). Bombay before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 9789353056650 – via Google Books.
  3. ""Wellington Monument," Mumbai". www.victorianweb.org.
  4. "A conversation on conservation: restoring the 152-year-old Wellington Fountain of South Mumbai". Architectural Digest India. February 22, 2017.
  5. "Wellington Fountain in south Mumbai restored to its old glory, to be unveiled this week". Hindustan Times. April 17, 2017.
  6. "UNESCO recognition for Wellington Fountain". November 18, 2017 – via www.thehindu.com.


The functional fountain with Maharashtra Police Headquarters in the background.
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