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The date and the rather crudely carved tulip-like outline are on a separate piece of granite, and the Honble. Mrs Rashleigh had been dead for 13 years in 1865. We wonder if the drinking fountain was originally configured differently in a different location, possibly attached to the Geffrye almshouses, now the museum. These were built 1715 from funds left in the will of Sir Robert Geffrye. He was born in Cornwall but came to London and became Lord Mayor in 1685. So there is a Cornish connection which could explain why the Rashleighs gave this fountain. So the tulip top with the date of relocation could have been added when the fountain was moved. Good theory?

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