Rising Universe

The fountain was switched off in the spring of 2006 to conserve water due to water shortages in the south of England. Although the water was recycled, the fountain lost 180 gallons of water a day to filtration and evaporation. It was switched on again in November 2006. In May 2008 the fountain was turned off again due to the failure of its main hydraulic cylinder. On 19 January 2009 the fountain was fenced off for repairs. In October 2013 a local newspaper attempted to create a debate about the future of the sculpture largely on the grounds that it is expensive to maintain. The fountain had long been a controversial landmark and some local residents used the debate to criticise the…

The fountain consisted of a large globe mounted on a pillar. The globe was designed to fill with water pumped from below: as the sphere filled it would descend slowly (over a period of about five minutes) after which a torrent of six and a half tons of water was released into the basin below; it then quickly rose and the cycle started over again. It was 45 ft across at its base, standing 28 ft high. An extract from Shelley's 1817 poem "Mont Blanc" appeared on a plaque on the sculpture: <blockquote>The everlasting universe of things<br /> Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves,<br /> Now dark – now glittering – now reflecting gloom –<br /> Now lending splendour, where from secret…