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| The Crampton Memorial Fountain |
This drinking fountain, which was located on the junction of College, D'Olier and Pearse Street, was erected in Sir Philip Crampton's honour in 1862. It was designed by Joseph Kirk, RHA, and was constructed of bronze, Aberdeen and Irish granite and black marble. It was 25 foot high and featured Indian water lillies, abacus (the water plant), dolphin's mouths, shells, a serpent, a saw, a heron, a pelican and a bust of Crampton himself. It was warmly referred to as 'The Cauliflower' or 'The Pineapple' by Dubliners. Quite a unique design and not to everyone's liking, as Sir Charles Cameron makes known in his History of the Royal College of Surgeon in Ireland
'A marble statue of Crampton from the master chisel of Foley, placed in the College Hall, would have been a more suitable memorial of him than the inartistic structure in College Street'.
Why was Crampton given a memorial fountain, be it a weird looking one, in the first place?
Well, Sir Philip Crampton was born on 7th June 1777 in the family home on William Street in Dublin. At only 14 years old he was indentured to the surgeon Solomon Richards and began his medical studies. In 1798 he 'passed' the exams for surgeon's mate and that same year on 25th September he received his Letters Testimonial from the College. Three days later Crampton was appointed surgeon to the Meath Hospital, a position he would hold for the next 60 years.
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| Crampton's signature can be seen fourth from the bottom RCSI/Lic/01/02 |
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| Cameo of Crampton as a young man |
Crampton, like many other surgeons of his time, went abroad to further his training studying at Edinburgh, London and graduating MD from Glasgow University at 1800. In 1801 he was elected a Member of the College and he was not yet 25 years old. He set up his own dissecting room and lecture theatre in the back buildings of his house on Dawson Street where he taught anatomy and surgery privately. Crampton's reputation as a gifted surgeon was growing in Dublin. He was appointed surgeon to the Westmoreland Lock Hospital in 1806 but it was an incident in 1810 that made him the talk to the town.
In the Richmond Tavern, which was opposite Crampton's house, a waiter suddenly started to choke from a piece of meat becoming stuck in his throat. Crampton was fetched and brought to help the man. He swiftly preformed a tracheotomy saving the man. News of this life-saving incident spread through the streets of Dublin.
In 1811 Crampton was elected President of the College. He was to be elected to this eminent position a further three times, in 1820, 1844 and 1855. The only man to have ever done so. Crampton held numerous important surgical positions including being appointed Surgeon-General by the Lord Lieutenant in 1813 and Surgeon-in-Ordinary in Ireland to George IV and Queen Victoria.
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| Sir Philip Crampton (1777-1858) |
Crampton carried out pioneering work in the treatment and removal stones in the bladder. He performed the first lithotrity in Dublin on 7th March 1834. He married Selina Hamilton Cannon in 1802 and had two sons and four daughters. As Crampton's practise steadily grew he moved to 14 Merrion Square where he was to live for 45 years. It was in this house that Sir Philip Crampton died at the age of 81 on 10th June 1858. His body was encased in Roman cement, as was his wish, and interred in Mount Jerome cemetery.
Cameron best describes the respect and esteem Crampton's fellow surgeons had for him in the following sentences
'Crampton takes rank with the greatest surgeons which the United Kingdom has produced. He was sagacious in diagnosis, ready in resources, dexterous in the use of instruments and sympathetic in his treatment of his patients.'
In 1959 the top two segments of the Crampton Memorial collapsed which led to Dublin City Council taking it away for repair. I wonder if it has been fully repaired yet?
- Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy