Patrick Comerford
When we were visiting Belfast last weekend, I promised myself to spend some time finding out a little more about Sir Otto Jaffe (1846-1929), Belfast’s only Jewish mayor, and to reacquaint myself with some of Jewish Belfast, including the sites of Belfast’s early synagogues on Annesley Street, off Antrim Road and Great Victoria Street.
The 150-year-old Jaffe Memorial Fountain is one of the most colourful public monuments in Belfast. It stands in vivid yellow and white colours at the Victoria Street entrance to the Victoria Square shopping centre. But it was almost lost earlier this century due to neglect and decay.
The Jaffe Memorial Fountain is a gilded, cast iron drinking fountain and was first erected a century and a half ago in 1874 by Sir Otto Jaffe in memory of his father, the German-born merchant Daniel Joseph Jaffe (1809-1874).
Daniel Joseph Jaffe was born in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, on 19 August 1809. He owned a large business in Hamburg that was also active in Dundee, Leipzig and Paris. He visited Belfast in 1845 to open a linen house and shipped linen products back to his other firms in Europe and America, and then settled in Belfast in 1850.
He built a linen warehouse in ‘Italian Renaissance style’ at the corner of Linenhall Street and Donegall Square South in 1851.
Daniel Jaffe was also a politician and philanthropist. He is seen as the founder of Belfast’s Jewish community and built the city’s first synagogue on Great Victoria Street in 1871.
He died in Nice on 21 January 1874 at the age of 64 and his body was brought back to Belfast, where he was buried in the Jewish section of Belfast City Cemetery.
Daniel Jaffe’s son Sir Otto Jaffe took over the family business in 1877. He was twice Lord Mayor of Belfast and the city’s first and only Jewish Lord Mayor.
Shortly after his father’s death, Otto Jaffe erected the Jaffe Fountain in Victoria Street in memory of his father. The fountain sits on a solid base with four steps from the street level. Eight columns support a large solid domed canopy and finial. The open filigree frieze above the cornice is expanded to the interior of the dome, and leaves decorate the outer edge of the cornice.
The cupola is trimmed with rope design and is surmounted by a five-tiered finial consisting of four scrolls with leaves and suns and stars pointing in four compass directions.
One of the original features of the fountain was a lamp at the apex of the dome. The lantern was later removed, perhaps with the arrival of electric light, and was replaced by a weather vane with a compass.
The present finial bears no resemblance to the original lantern, and has little resemblance to the weather vane that replaced it. The uppermost part of the finial appears to be in the shape of an arrow pointing to Heaven.
The wide based stood on a raised and stepped platform. The central pedestal was supported by four columns stamped with a diamond pattern. Square capitals on each side of the dog toothed basin contain a seven pointed embellishment that may represent a star or the sun. This symbol also outlines the ribs on the domed roof.
Four consoles with acanthus relief connect the central stanchion to the basin. They originally supported drinking cups suspended on chains. Shell motif spouts released the flow of water. A multi-tiered circular column was surmounted by a studded orb terminal.
The commemoration panel on the interior of the canopy hood reads: ‘Daniel Joseph Jaffe born Schwerin 1809 Died at Nice 1874/ A founder of Jaffe Brothers/ of Hamburg, Dundee, Belfast, Leipzig and Paris/ He fostered the linen trade of Ulster/ Until 1933 this memorial stood near the warehouse/ he erected in 1880 at 10 Donegall Square South. It was/ then moved to this site for the better service of the public.’
The fountain was made in Glasgow by the Sun Foundry of George Smith & Co and first stood in Victoria Square. It was moved to the embankment near King’s Bridge, Botanic Gardens, in 1933.
However, while the fountain was in the Botanic Gardens it fell into a bad state of repair and was in a fragile condition.
The fountain was fully restored in 2007. This involved dismantling it piece by piece. The dismantled fountain was taken to Shropshire for its restoration.
During the restoration work, extensive research and scientific analysis was carried out on various layers of paint in order to identify the original colours.
The restored fountain was returned to Victoria Square on 14 February 2008. It remains dry but it is one of the most colourful monuments in Belfast’s city centre and is a reminder of the history of Belfast’s Jewish community.
Shabbat Shalom, שבת שלום
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