PP:15137604.jpg:Margaret Oakden with the restored Perseus and Andromeda fountain

VISITORS to an historic ruin will be in for an Easter treat when an ornate fountain is finally switched back on.

Witley Court's Perseus and Andromeda fountain has not been used since the 1937 fire, which signalled its demise.

But after five years of restoration the 120-jet fountain is ready to return to it former glory.

On Good Friday, April 18, at 11am the first of the jets will be fired into action, with a grand firing taking place three times during the day.

English Heritage, which owns the property, is hoping it will attract around 80,000 visitors this year.

"To see the fountain working is a dream come true for many people," said Margaret Oakden, historic properties manager for English Heritage.

"It's a dream that many local people will have had for a long time, and always thought it may never happen.

"Witley Court certainly gives us lots of challenges."

English Heritage has had to restore the monument housing the jets, as well as engineering work on the jets themselves.

It is currently filling the basin with tap water and hopes it will be full in time for the test run next week.

"One thousand people would turn out for the firing of the jets in the past," said Ms Oakden.

"It's taken a long time to get into the fountain. It's amazing how big it is - I climbed up when they had the scaffolding up there and the horse's head is as big as my body.

"We're recycling water in the basin, before it used to empty the reservoir and they would only fire it on high days and holidays.

"The whole village would turn out for it. Now visitors will be able to see it over the Easter weekend."

As well as the Perseus and Andromeda fountain stonemasons have created replacement sea nymphs to stand on either side. The originals were taken when Witley Court was sold off to an architectural demolition firm.

The fountain has been restored after funding through the National Lottery Heritage Fund and English Heritage. The restoration work at Witley Court has so far cost £2m, this also includes a visitor centre.

The fountain depicts the classical scene of Perseus and Andromeda with the sea monster sent by Poseidon.

It was sent to kill Andromeda after her mother, Cassiopeia compared herself to the sea nymphs.

But Perseus was so startled when he saw Andromeda chained to a rock he rescued her, on condition that she become his.

The fountain's jets are found in the mouths of the fishes and in the clamshells that surround Perseus and Andromeda. There is one larger jet from the mouth of the sea monster.

Lightning struck Perseus's bronze's spear and destroyed his head in the 1960s. The spear is now made from non-conducting glass fibre resin.

When the fountain was completed in 1853 it was reported to be the biggest block of fountain sculpture in Europe.

The two sea nymphs that accompany the fountain are replicas, sculpted from early photographs.

The Flora fountain on the east side of Witley Court is next in line to be restored. It was viewed by Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales and stayed at the mansion.

Witley Court comprises Victorian, Jacobean and mediaeval buildings.