The Town Pump is located in the centre of Ampthill and lies within the Ampthill Conservation Area. It is a grade II listed building and a designated Scheduled Monument.
The Pump serves as a milestone, each of its four faces being identified by the name of the towns to which the four roads of the Market Place lead. Bedford (VII miles; north), Dunstable (XII miles, south), London (XLV miles;east) and Woburn (VII miles, west).
The Pump is constructed of Portland limestone and was erected in 1785 by John Fitzpatrick, the 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory (1745-1818). It is said to have been designed by the architect Sir William Chambers (1722-1796) who had in 1768-72 worked on Ampthill Park House and formed part of a programmed of public-spirited improvements initiated and paid for by the Earl.