The First Public Drinking Fountain
the fountain that gave london clean water
London's very first free public drinking fountain, set into a church railing on Holborn Viaduct, still running after 160 years.
Free to visit · City of London · St Paul's · EC1A 9DE
Opening: Viewable any time
Set into the railings of a City church on Holborn Viaduct is London's first public drinking fountain, unveiled in 1859 at a time when clean water was scarce and cholera was rife. Crowds gathered to use it, and within months thousands of Londoners were drinking from it every day, sparking a movement that put free fountains across the city.
Two small cups on chains still hang beside the marble basin, and the fountain remains in working order more than a century and a half on. It is free to find, an easily missed but genuinely important little monument to public health and Victorian philanthropy.
Getting there: On the railings of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate church on Holborn Viaduct, near St Paul's.
Best time to go: Any time, on a walk along Holborn Viaduct.
Insider tip: Look low on the church railings for the marble basin and the original cup, easy to walk straight past. The metal cups on chains are a charming Victorian survival, though you might bring your own bottle to fill.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide