Mermaid Fountain

Artist: William Bloye (1808-1975)
Date made: 1960
Medium: Bronze and stone
Research and Cultural Collections
Accession number: BIRRC-A0317
Location: Guild of Students. To find this sculpture, you can either use its what three words location or use the campus digital map.

The Mermaid Fountain sits in the central courtyard of the Guild of Students. It depicts a mermaid atop a working water feature and was sculpted in bronze by William Bloye. The symbol of the mermaid can be found throughout the University of Birmingham campus and is drawn from the University’s heraldic shield which features a mermaid and a double-headed lion. Bloye was a prolific and accomplished municipal sculptor and was President of the Royal British Society of Sculptors.

Upper torso, arms and head of Mermaid Fountain bronze sculpture by William Bloye with Guild of Students behind

Mermaid Fountain bronze sculpture by William Bloye with Guild of Students behind

Torso, arms and head of Mermaid Fountain bronze sculpture by William Bloye with Guild of Students behind

Visual description

This large bronze sculpture is of a mermaid. It has a nude human female torso and the tail of a fish which is scaled and tapers to a fork at the end. Its arms are outstretched with its hands raised palms towards the sky. The mermaid has long wavy hair. Its face has a relaxed, neutral expression. Water is depicted carved in bronze, rising up the base of the mermaid’s tail. The mermaid is pale sage-green in colour. The mermaid sits on a round platform within a cream-coloured stone clamshell which is raised on a round stone platform within a larger flat, water feature. The standing water is covered in a perforated metal sheeting safety cover. Around the edge of the clamshell are six small green-coloured bronze flowers which have the appearance of a water lily and running water jets out of these as a fountain. The fountain is not always switched on, if it is on, the sound of running water can be heard. The name of the artist, William Bloye and the year the sculpture was made, 1960, are carved by hand in the mermaid’s tail. The sculpture sits within a square courtyard at the centre of the Guild of Students.