‘I sat at the bottom, at the side of that pool and dipped my brush into the water’ remarked our ‘Grand Old Man’, Edward Bannister, casting an eye over his serene painting depicting water cascading over rocks.

A philanthropist, artist, mayor, royalist, business owner and traveller that lived until the ripe age of 94, Bannister really was a remarkable man.

Born in Hull on 3rd September, 1821, he was determined to become an artist until, on advice from a doctor, he was set on quite a different course.

Landing in Grimsby in the 1850’s he made his fortune in the coal business establishing wide connections in the industry. 

In fact it is rumoured that he owned the largest private coal export trade in the world. A business that he ran until well into his eighties when it then passed over to his nephew.

But this is not just the story of a successful entrepreneur but a rather remarkable one of an even more remarkable man that dedicated 65 years of his life to the people of Grimsby.

He served as Grimsby's mayor twice over and it was during this time that he donated the drinking fountain in 1869. Other donations included a lavish clocktower and even a sailor’s working man’s club.

He served as a magistrate and went on to become Justice of the Peace in 1897, he was one of the two original guarantors to the Grimsby and District Hospital and also acted as a secretary to the institution for seven years and was a member of the committee right up until his death in 1916.

He was also Chair of the Pier Company and one of the three men responsible for the conception and build of Cleethorpes Pier.

But more than his philanthropic escapades and strong business sense, he was a keen lover of the arts, sketching well into his 93rd year.

His artistry took him over not just the country but world; he toured the highlands, on foot with only a knapsack and his Glaswegian tutor, visited Brussels where he sketched a scene from the battle of Waterloo, Rouen, where he rose at 4am to sketch before getting back on his boat at 6, and even ventured as far out as Egypt.

But it was ultimately time and again in Grimsby where he shared his love of paintings, through The Silver School of Art and Crafts which he established. He regularly attended its annual exhibitions of students' work.

He also generously donated most of his artwork to the town curating the beginnings of a collection for a gallery. This was originally hung in the public library, which again he helped to establish when he sold the Mechanic's Institute to the borough on “very favourable terms”

We hope you’ll agree that Edward Bannister was a truly unique man that led an expansive, intriguing but above all generous life.

This fountain is both his legacy and love story to the town. As such, it deserves to be restored to its rightful place in our small but mighty Grimsby.