Granite drinking-trough outside Liskeard Railway Station

Summary

Horse drinking-trough, dated 1893.

Reasons for Designation

The granite drinking-trough outside Liskeard Railway Station, dated 1893, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* the trough is constructed of local granite and is intact, and its inscription noting its donation legible.

Historic interest:
* for its donation by Mrs Mary Hermon, the wife of a local rector and benefactor, reflecting her love of animals;
* drinking-troughs such as this are an eloquent reminder of the largely-vanished presence of animals from our streets, particularly where they are located in prominent public locations;
* as a reflection of changes in the attitude towards animal welfare in the later C19.

Group value:
* with the Grade II-listed Tavernan Carow Public House which was built as the railway hotel in 1859;
* alongside other troughs in the town with the same inscription donated to the borough of Liskeard in 1893, and which are listed Grade II.

History

In the C19 provision began to be made in towns for drinking facilities for cattle, horses and dogs. Granite troughs were usually presented by charitable associations or by individuals as sentimental tokens. An inscription was usually present to record the donation, and the troughs placed in convenient public locations, such as squares and near churches.

The borough of Liskeard was presented with three granite drinking-troughs in 1893 by Mrs Mary Hermon (1854-1926), the wife of the Reverend George Hermon (1852-1911). Reverend Hermon was the curate and later (1896-1900) vicar of St Neot and a local benefactor (he had donated an iron mission church to the hamlet of Draynes in 1887; and also paid for the Church Institute in St Neot in 1896). The Hermons lived at Doublebois House (Grade II listed), and built other buildings in the Liskeard area.

Liskeard railway station was opened in 1859 as part of the Cornwall Railway, with the main station building located on the road above a deep cutting containing the two platforms and railway lines. The 1907 Ordnance Survey map (1:2500) shows that the granite trough was originally located on the west corner of the crossroads by the station; at some point (after 1978) it was moved to the south corner of that junction directly outside the station building.

The other two drinking troughs donated by Mrs Hermon are located outside the Church of St Martin and on the Parade; both are listed Grade II.

Details

Horse drinking-trough, dated 1893.

Dressed-granite rectangular trough with curved corners, with sump, on a granite-block base. It is inscribed on the north face in lead lettering PRESENTED TO THE BOROUGH BY A LOVER OF ANIMALS / 1893.

Sources

Websites
Heritage Gateway: Cornwall & Scilly Historic Environment Record: Liskeard Railway Station:, accessed 07/08/2020 from https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO50179&resourceID=1020

Other
Ordnance Survey, Cornwall (1907) (1:2500)
Ordnance Survey, Cornwall (1978) (1:2500)

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