Mermaid Fountain

Title: Mermaid Fountain

Built in: 1961

Location: Mermaid Square, the Guild of Students

Short intro: The mermaid of the University of Birmingham coat of arms, brought to life.

Description: Designed by William James Bloye. The mermaid from the University’s Crest holds a mirror and comb and can be found all around campus: on souvenirs, the Stained Glass Window in the Great Hall and in portraits of previous chancellors such as Sir Dominic Cadbury, to name a few. The Mermaid Fountain renders the mermaid from the University of Birmingham coat of arms into sculpture. The joyful mermaid raises her arms up to the sky, offering a warm welcome to those visiting the Guild of Students. She rides stylised bronze waves on top of a bowl sculpted like a scallop shell with beautiful bronze lilies.

The Image of the mermaid comes from Mason Science College, the academic precursor to the University of Birmingham established in Birmingham city centre in 1875. The mermaid was part of the heraldic crest created for himself by Sir Josiah Mason, who had established the science college. He was a businessman and philanthropist, and a self-made millionaire through various industrial concerns (most famously of pen-nibs). Many different stories seek to explain why Mason chose the mermaid for his crest. Some say that Mason was inspired by an old, gilt toy featuring a mermaid sold by his uncle, or a stained glass window in a church in Kidderminster which featured a mermaid. Another tale says that he was inspired by a trip to a local pub as a child where he saw a mermaid in one of its windows. However he came by it, the General Purposes Committee during the establishment of the University of Birmingham chose to retain the mermaid as part of their crest, and she has become an intrinsic symbol of the university.