Blandford (click on photograph to bring up bigger/better version).

blandford forum, 2016

blandford, 2016

blandford, 2016
At the museum, Blandford Forum, Dorset. Most unusually, the valves survive, and although they surely can't be the original ones, it's rare to find any valves still present in a lead pump. The weighted inlet valve, which would have been located at the base of the barrel, is sitting loose in the tank, and can be seen at the bottom of the photo. Thanks to Shawn Shaw for the photos and discussion, below. Nearby is a notice which reads:
The Bastard Pump
This pump was found in Bere's Yard, Blandford
(where this museum is now situated) in 1985. It
was formerly erected near the cottages in
the yard. This pump appears to have
been erected in 1773 by John Bastard, a nephew
of John Bastard the Elder (one of the famous Bastard
Brothers) who died in 1770. Note the Phoenix,
denoting the rising up of the town from the ashes of
the properties destroyed by the fire of 1731.
Markings: A highly decorated lead tank, featuring "1773", the initials "JB", two female figures, two fleurs-de-lis and what is described above as a phoenix. A phoenix would indeed fit nicely with the fact that the Bastard brothers were famous for their rebuilding work in the town following the large fire of 1731. A closer look at it, though, suggests to Shawn (and I concur) that it's more likely to be a swan unchained rising out of a coronet, a crest used by various families, and with various deep meanings. The fleurs-de-lis feature in the badge of the Baronets Portman of Bryanston.

Manufacturer: Unk.

blandford, 2017 Also in Blandford Forum, Dorset, in cottages built in the 1860s by the Portmans of Bryanston. The two pumps have been re-positioned (no room for the handle on the left hand pump). The floral design on the lead tank of the right hand pump is identical to that on one at Burton Bradstock, Dorset. Thanks to Shawn Shaw for the photos.

Markings: None.

Manufacturer: Unk.
blandford, 2017

|Back|