Plaque: Richard Grosvenor fountain
Erection date: 1870
{Each face is decorated with a mosaic panel. Starting with the south-west face (pictured) and then clockwise:}
EMW {below a coronet}
In memory of Richard Second Marquess of Westminster, died 1869.
W {below a coronet}
B 1795 W
'EMW' are the initials of the Marquess's wife, Elizabeth Mary who died 1891, here to indicate that it was she who erected the memorial to her recently deceased husband.
The mosaics are of variable quality, within each piece. e.g. in the one pictured: the serpentine line is finely worked; the panels on the 4 sides are crudely laid with inconsistent colours (turquoise, gold, dark blue) and more cement than tesserae. This unrefined style of mosaic work is anachronistic and we wonder if it is the result of ill-advised repairs.
Site: Richard Grosvenor fountain (2 memorials)
SW1, Pimlico Road
The 1954 film 'Cocktails in the Kitchen' has Dirk Bogarde and wife living in a one-room flat in the Cundy Street flats near here and, at about 30 mins in, the camera pans past this junction showing this fountain and the statue exactly as they now are.
