REPAIRS and improvements are planned for Dorchester's historic Town Pump at Cornhill at the northern end of South Street.

The proposal seek approval for a new stone base, a re-instate drinking water spout, and a shallow basin designed to provide drinking water for dogs. Dorchester Town Council say the stone column, built in 1784, will be carefully lifted and reset onto the restored plinth so that it sits straight and true.

The proposed refurbishment comes after other street improvements in the area, part of the town's Conservation Area. The structure itself is Grade 2 listed and once supplied drinking water to much of the town.

Architects Crickmay Stark, which will oversee the work, say the column appears to lean to the west after, apparently, being struck by a lorry many years ago.

The pump was built at a time when the town had no piped water supply with much of the town making use of it for their water supply, apart from more wealthy residents who had their own wells.

Water from it was also used to wash down the street after the town market had closed for the day. The water supply to the pump was cut in the 1930s or 40s.

Said the architects in a report to Dorset Council on the proposals: "The drinking water spout to be re-instated will incorporate a lion-head mask based on an eighteenth-century design, reflecting the historic function and character of the Town Pump. This will allow members of the public to access drinking water, reinstating a lost civic amenity."

The Pump is one of the most iconic structures in Dorchester which used to be climbed on New Year's Eve by those with the courage, energy and head for heights.

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The full details of the proposals, lodged under reference P/LBC/2026/00195, can be viewed on the Dorset Council planning website.