On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

This object consists of 3 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Drain Head

1905 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Three gutter-spouts. Cast iron. English, with T. ELSLEY on the back of each, and 'VAM' and '1905' on the front. Each is of a rectangular section, with bowed front, surmounting a narrower, squat-baluster-shaped section, which in turn surmounts a ring section, originally attached to drain.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Water Pipe Head
  • Spout
  • Hopper
Materials and techniques
Cast iron, painted
Brief description
Rainwater head, cast iron, made by Thomas Elsley & Co., London, cast with 'VAM' and '1905' inscriptions.
Physical description
Three gutter-spouts. Cast iron. English, with T. ELSLEY on the back of each, and 'VAM' and '1905' on the front. Each is of a rectangular section, with bowed front, surmounting a narrower, squat-baluster-shaped section, which in turn surmounts a ring section, originally attached to drain.
Dimensions
  • Height: 44cm
  • Width: 48.5cm
  • Depth: 23cm
Marks and inscriptions
'1905' and 'VAM'
Gallery label
(07/1994)
RAIN-WATER HEAD
Cast iron
England; dated 1905
Made by Thomas Elsley & Co., Great Tichfield Street, London W1

This was made for the Victoria & Albert Museum and is cast with the cypher VAM.

Museum No. M.117-1978
Object history
This was made specifically for the Victoria & Albert Museum and is cast with the cypher 'VAM' and the year '1905'. The three gutter-spouts were rescued by Mr A. Burton of the Library, from a rubbish tip where they had been thrown during the repair of the drains etc outside the Library.
The building of Aston Webb’s section of the Museum was virtually completed in 1906 (see GLC Survey of London vol. 38, London 1975, chapter 6, p. 121). Elsley’s were a firm of Metalworkers, who by 1933 were incorporated with the Portland Metalworks at 20-30 Gt Tichfield Street, W1 (see catalogue in Victoria & Albert Museum Library 204 G Box I)
Bibliographic reference
Starkie Gardner, J. English Ironwork of the XVII and XVIII Centuries. London, 1911. Fig.143, p.298.
Other number
MET.LOST.2122 - Previous LOST number
Collection
Accession number
M.117-1978

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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