Something to spout about for Brideshead fountain

But the 150-year-old Atlas Fountain at Castle Howard, forever to be associated with the naked frolickings of characters in the period drama Brideshead Revisited, has emerged as a high-profile casualty of the freezing temperatures of the past winter.

The Howard family, which owns North Yorkshire's most famous stately home, has revealed that the icy frosts of what was Britain's coldest spell in 30 years caused cracks to appear in the Atlas Fountain's ageing stone fabric.

Several delicate sections, including hand-carved scallop shells and ornate fish scales, were simply sheared off.

But now the first major conservation work to be carried out on the fountain since the early 1980s has seen it restored to its magnificent best.

Malton-based building conservation experts the Earth, Stone and Lime Company were brought in to replace the cracking 1980s concrete repair work with more appropriate lime mortar, restoring the damaged features and main structure alike to make it fully watertight and weather-resistant for years to come.

Stonemason and conservator Nigel Copsey, who led the work, said: "The winter had taken quite a toll. The hard frosts had a very damaging effect on the concrete repairs which had been carried out in 1982.

"In truth the fountain had been breaking apart slowly and surely over a long period of time, but the weather really exacerbated the problem."

Over the past month Mr Copsey and his team have been working long days to restore the fountain to its former glory – painstakingly retouching the stonework, cleaning away much of the filth and moss, and re-gilding the golden icons around the fountain's edges so that they gleam once more in the morning sunlight.

"It was a privilege to be working at such a wonderful place as Castle Howard," Mr Copsey said. When you're working there each day you see everything in a different light – watching it change through the day, you really absorb the atmosphere and feel a part of the place.

"I have worked on lots of important buildings over the years, but I must say this was a special delight."

Since the early 1980s Castle Howard has been synonymous with Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh's classic 1945 novel about love, class, religion and society. The 1980s ITV version was filmed at the stately home, with the grand Atlas Fountain in the magnificent grounds a key location throughout – most notably in the famous skinny-dipping scene.

So iconic did the fountain prove to be that when film-makers decided to make a big-screen version of Brideshead in 2008, they felt compelled to return to Castle Howard.

"One of the reasons we went (to film at Castle Howard) was this fountain," says Kevin Loader, who produced the 2008 film version. "A lot of the screenplay revolves around this rather dominating fountain at Brideshead, and the one at Castle Howard feels like the one in the book. It is a wonderful Atlas motif fountain, which sits in perfect configuration to the house."

Claire Tarrant, the head of building services at Castle Howard, who has overseen the restoration project for the stately home, agrees. "Yes, it has iconic status for its role in Brideshead Revisited," she said. "But there's much more to the Atlas Fountain. It's the absolute centrepiece of the grounds – a remarkable piece of sculpture of world-class importance.

"Its design, coupled with the Portland stone it's made from, is utterly spectacular."

The 30,000 restoration project should ensure it remains so for many generations to come.

Mythology meets engineering

The fountain is named after Atlas, one of the mythological legends of Ancient Greece.

His burden was to support the heavens upon his muscular shoulders – commonly now represented by the globe

Atlas's image forms the main focal point of the fountain, which was commissioned by the 7th Earl of Carlisle in 1850

The figures of the surrounding Tritons, or Greek sea gods, were carved by the sculptor John Thomas

They were transported from London to Castle Howard by railway, and in October 1853 the fountain was finally turned on

Four large jets of water are blown through shells to cool Atlas as he struggles under the weight

Other jets fill the lower 'scallop shell' basins, which overflow into the central reservoir, producing a dramatic cascade

The fountain is fed from the reservoir at the top of the hill in nearby Ray Wood, located to the east of the main house.