Fountain of Tamariz

 

The impulse given by Carlos III to public and dotacionales works is greater than what the history tells, because its beneficent influence arrived until the most recondite points. At least, it served as an impulse to the city councils so that their money was used, the one of own, to make works that procured the well-being of the population.

This work, that cannot be described as official, but which is net popular, - perhaps executed by some master builder to used to work in churches -, according to what is said on the label recorded on the threshold of the small door:

 

RAS ...  (the rest ilegible)
A EXPENSAS DEL
REAL POSITO REI
NANDO CARLOS
III AÑO 1787
In English: "Ras... to the expense of the Real Posito, reigning Carlos III, year 1787"

 

It is less located to almost 1 km to the East of the town.

The construction and its structure are frankly interesting and original. It is a coffer of water collection, coming from a spring that has its entrance by the left.

The plant is rectangular, with 4.10 m. of facade by 3.16 of bottom, while the cash settlement presents form of small house, with a graceful arc pointed in its facade, framed between two strong abutments. All is made in stone of the zone, limestone of the next hills seated with lime mortar.

Covering the arc, a flat whiter stone cloth, in which is the rectangular hollow of the small door destined  to registry, because the water must have its exit to the outside by an orifice 26 cm. more down the register. The apparent height, is of 4.20 m., nevertheless, the inner is buried a meter more, forming a bucket-deposit.

The voussoirs of the arc have a more careful stature, are better cut and with better adjustment than the rest of stones of the other zones, which does not avoids that each one has a different wide and that there is not a unique key.

The interior has aspect of minicathedral, because it presents an ample pointed vault, with the perpendicular edge to the facade, being based its startings also in individual pointed arcs, being the pushes of these resisted by the powerful abutments of the main facade and the heavy wall of the later facade. As a detail, light "impostillas" serves as starting point of these arcs. All is executed with voussoirs and stones of good cut.

To the outside the strong slope of the cover is covered with mortar, like the lateral outer paramentos and back. It is strongly protégée and wrapped by surrounding earth, and gives origin to a little stream, thus called, of the fountain, that going towards the town, ends at the Sequillo river. Next to this stream, already in the edge of the town, there are two wells covered with brick vault.

The water of this fountain was used until a few years in the town of Tamariz, and it still provides the water for another fountain, monumental, located in the center of the San Antón Square, crowned this one by the Mercury statue, known as Don Purpurino , that presided over the Fuente Dorada (Gilded Fountain) Square in Valladolid, which arrived at Tamariz in 1952 from the hand of its mayor Alberto Pastor. There it is with a leaned light, in front of a large house that shows a coat of arms of a "familiar" of the Santo Oficio.

Author of the text: Carlos Carricajo Carbajo

 

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