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MONTEFIORE GARDENS
The Drinking Fountain was presented to the thirty way-farers of Bridgetown, by John Montefiore, in memory of his father John Castello Montefiore, who had been among the first persons to die from Cholera in 1854. It was stated by the Press on June 27, that he had died the previous day. It reported that for forty years, he had been one of the leading merchants in the city and had a wholesale and retail store in Swan Street. He was also the owner of Neils Plantation. Montefiore may have been of Jewish ancestry, but he was not a Jew as he was baptised at the St. Michael's Cathedral on April 20, 1810, when he was twenty years of age. His son, John Jr. who looked after the English side of the
business gave the Drinking Fountain to the people of Barbados, and
it was originally located in Beckwith Place, until it was moved to
its present location in 1940. This Fountain was opened on
November 02, 1865, and was described as "a little gem of
architectural beauty, there being nothing in Barbados to compare it
with".
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The Montefiore Gardens is the home of the Montefiore Monument
or Drinking Fountain, which is currently maintained by the Commission.
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