HISTORIANS, councillors and local householders joined together to celebrate the restoration of the Victorian fountain at The Plain, in East Oxford.

Months have been spent cleaning and restoring the monument, which was built to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and completed in 1899.

On Tuesday, architectural lighting illuminating the fountain was switched on, marking the completion of the £15,700 project.

Debbie Dance, director of the Oxford Preservation Trust, which has been involved in the restoration, said: “It is a gateway to the city centre and a pretty little building that everybody is familiar with. But it had got lost, somehow.

“The lights will make it look like a little lantern, and it will be quite lovely at night, as well as much improved during the day.”

Stone cleaning has been carried out to the base and columns of the fountain, the clock dials and wind vane have been restored, the clock tower and underside of the roof decorated, and repairs made to the roofing.

Mrs Dance said: “The site has a lot of history. It was originally the site of a church, then there was a tollhouse, and subsequently, to celebrate Queen Victoria’s jubilee they built the fountain. It was a real Oxford project by Oxford people.”

Every day, thousands of people go through The Plain – which joins Magdalen Bridge with the three main roads going into East Oxford: St Clement’s Street, Cowley Road and Iffley Road.

Mrs Dance said: “I am surprised by how much more it stands out and by the level of interest there has been. Lots of people have said how pleased they are that it has been done.”

The money was provided by the trust, Magdalen College, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Oxfordshire Buildings Preservation Trust, Oxford City Council and Magdalen College School.

A campaign to bring the fountain back into use, was dismissed after English Heritage said installing the water could destroy the fabric of the building.

Erica Steinhauer, who runs the Bead Games and Sweet Heaven store in Cowley Road, said: “It is a pity that they could not bring the water back.

“To my mind, it has been over-restored. We have lost the feeling that it has been here forever.”

The fountain was inaugurated by Princess Louise, the daughter of Queen Victoria, in 1899, and was designed by architect EP Warren, responsible for the Eastgate Hotel.

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk