I.O.D.E. Fountain

Corner of Norfolk and Yarmouth Street

Bylaw: (1993)-14439

Legal description: Part of Norfolk Street and Yarmouth Street, Registered Plan 8, Canada Company Survey

Designated portions

The designation includes:

  • All masonry, wood and decorative metal elements of the fountain;
  • The roofline of the fountain, but not the roof fabric

It is understood that some or all of the fountain’s components may be replicated or restored, and it is intended that any non-original features may be returned to documented earlier designs or their documented original form without requiring City Council permission for an alteration to the designation.

Property history

The Victoria-Guelph Chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire was formed on December 4, 1909 as the first I.O.D.E. Chapter in Guelph. At its inaugural meeting, the Chapter stated that its initial work would be the “beautifying and improving of our City and the establishment of a philanthropic influence in Guelph”. In this regard, one of the Chapter’s first accomplishments was the presentation in 1912 of a drinking fountain to the City in memory of the late King Edward VII.

With the assistance of the City’s Parks and Shade Commission, the fountain was erected in 1914 in Trafalgar Square, facing Wyndham Street, on the Square’s most prominent position. The contract to design the fountain was awarded by the I.O.D.E. to an English architect named Lund. The fountain, constructed of stone and wood and featuring carved stone embellishments, functioned for many years as a public drinking fountain, and was considered to be one of the City’s most handsome public monuments.

The designation includes all masonry, wood and decorative metal elements of the fountain, including all inscriptions, the roofline of the fountain but not the roof fabric. Scheduled for restoration at the time of its designation in 1993, it is understood that some or all of the fountain’s components may be replicated or restored.