To commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 the school commissioned Henry Woodyer to design a drinking fountain on the Common – piped water only came to the Village the previous autumn. Up to then, the only refreshments available had been home-made lemonade and ginger beer of variable quality bought from houses around the Common. At the opening the water pressure was too high and when the Headmaster pressed the knob to pour the first cupful he soaked himself and surrounding dignitaries. The long-serving music master, Dick Harris, wrote a special hymn for the occasion.
The fountain was made from red brick and white stone, with a shield on each side. One was of the Royal arms, one of the School crest, one of the Union Jack and crown, and one of an entwined rose, shamrock and thistle. Below the shields was the inscription:
1887 – Huncce fontem Victoriae D.G. Mag Brit et Hib. Regin. Ind. Imp. Cum annum L mum jam regnasset, scholiae Cranleighiensis alumni discaverunt
Unfortunately, the stone used was far too soft and very quickly weathered. Within a decade most of the carvings were badly worn and by the 1930s those more exposed to the wind and rain had become all but indecipherable. Around that time the water also ceased to flow from the fountain. The facia was restored and the fountain rededicated in 2012 to commemorate its 125th anniversary as well as the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.