Steble Fountain

The Steble Fountain stands on William Brown Street in central Liverpool, beside Wellington’s Column. It occupies a small paved space between St George’s Hall and other civic buildings. The fountain was donated by former mayor Richard Fell Steble in the late 19th century to fill a gap left by undeveloped land. For decades it has been a Grade II* listed structure, recognised for its historic importance. During the 2010s and 2020s it has stood idle while repairs were considered. The fountain’s origins lie in a gift of £1,000 from Steble in 1877, when he was a former mayor. It was designed by Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard, who adapted a pattern first shown at the Paris Exposition of 1867. The same casting has appeared in Boston and Quebec City, among other places. At its opening in 1879 the water pressure proved weak and the steam pump beneath St George’s Hall made too much noise. An electric pump later replaced the steam engine, and the fountain was restored in 1992 for the Tall Ships’ Race. Visitors find a cast-iron fountain topped by four bronze marine gods at its corners. A circular basin thirty feet wide supports an octagonal stem with figures of Neptune, Amphitrite, Acis, and Galatea. Above them sits a shallow bowl with sixteen scallop and rose carvings, and from its centre rises a smaller bowl topped by a mermaid holding a cornucopia. The whole structure reaches twenty-three feet high and is surrounded by the paved area near Wellington’s Column.