The restored Victoria Fountain has returned to the Old Steine and is being reassembled – but won’t be turned on in time for next month’s coronation.
The fountain, which was originally installed to mark another royal occasion, Queen Victoria’s 27th birthday in 1846.
It was dismantled and taken away for specialist repairs last December after first being spotted listing the previous Christmas.
It’s now hoped it will be able to turned back on and the hoardings around it taken down by mid-June.
The council said: “The Victoria Fountain has been transported back to its home on Old Steine Gardens where it will be reassembled.
“The work completed so far looks amazing and we can’t wait to see it finished and back to its former glory.
“It will remain behind hoardings to keep it safe while further refurbishment work takes place on site.
“The plan is to have it fully operational before we unveil it. The estimated date for this is by mid-June.”
The Victoria Fountain, also known as the Dolphin Fountain, is 32ft in height and includes a large cast-iron pool with a rim decorated with egg-and-dart mouldings. It has three levels of cascading water.
The grade II listed structure was restored between 1990 and 1995 in readiness for a visit by the then Prince Charles.
The stones at the base of the fountain are not part of the original fabric of the structure.
Most of these are conglomerate sedimentary rocks covered in a concrete slurry and will be reinstated once the fountain is back in situ.
Absolutely perfectly spot on Brightonian timing.
Some good news then, there’s a bit of tidying up to do now around the place, and i hope there’s a maintenance schedule, and perhaps cctv to prevent any person in Brighton deciding it looks too nice.
Yes, I wonder if the draw to spoil it will prove too much for some people. Even the lamppost in the photo has been vandalised with graffiti.