Location
Close to the western end of the Canoe Lake
Description
A stone plinth holding a drinking fountain and topped by an elaborate cast iron canopy.
IN MEMORY OF EMANUEL EMANUEL, ALDERMAN, J.P.
WHO WAS MAYOR OF PORTSMOUTH 1866-67
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THIS FOUNTAIN WAS GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE OF PORTSMOUTH
BY HIS SON AND DAUGHTER
BARROW EMANUEL AND LADY MAGNUS
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ALDN. R. BARNES, MAYOR 1893
Further information:
[Extract from "The Portsmouth That Has Passed" by William S. Gates]
"Among the makers of modern Portsmouth a foremost place must be given to Alderman Emanuel Emanuel. Entering the Town Council in 1844, he declined to take the oath on "the faith of a Christian" and thereby rendered himself liable to a fine of £500 for every vote he gave, but there was no one in Portsmouth mean enough to proceed against this valiant Jew. He was a reformer to his fingertips. Free Mart Fair having become a great nuisance, he agitated for its abolition. As Southsea Common was a waste, polluted by open drains and occasionally swept by the sea, he secured the favour of the Governor Lord Frederick FitzClarence, in the construction of the Esplanade and the levelling of the common. He also helped in securing the People's Park (as Victoria Park was first Named), in promoting the railway to London, and in many other ways worked as a brave and true pioneer. He died in 1888."
The memorial fountain was offered to Portsmouth Corporation in 1893 when it was suggested that it stand in Clarendon Road. This was rejected because the land there was too boggy. It was eventually sited opposite what is now the Ocean Hotel on the end of the land separating St Helens Parade and the Esplanade. In 1934 the Corporation sought to change the location of the fountain in order to accommodate road layout alterations. The current site at the western end of the Canoe Lake was proposed and accepted. The Fountain was restored in 1962 and again in 2005.
