Doulton Fountain and Templeton's Carpet Factory

The highly decorative Doulton Fountain was designed to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 1887, and became Doulton's main display piece for the 1888 International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow. The Fountain is the largest terracotta fountain in the world, as well as the best surviving example of its kind. It now stands in front of the equally ornate People's Palace, and in the background is the colourful Templeton's Carpet Factory.

Templeton commissioned the architect, William Leiper (1839-1916), to tackle the project. His design is directly inspired by the late medieval Doge's Palace in Venice but Leiper would also have been aware of the fantastic designs being used for the pavilions in Glasgow's 1888 International Exhibition showground in the west end. The flamboyant glazed brick, vitreous enamel tiles, red brick and terracotta of the facade evokes the rich Oriental-influenced patterns of the carpets the factory produced.

Just back from a successful evening in our final Curling match of the season. It was a tight match, but we won 7-3 to win the league title.