Other

Cornhill pump

Erection date: 1799

Inscription

{On the panel facing the pavement:}
On this spot a well was first made and a house of correction built thereon by Henry Wallis, Mayor of London, in the year 1282.
{On the base:}
Phillips & Hopwood, Engine makers, fecerunt.

{On the panel facing the road:}
The well was discovered much enlarged and this pump erected in the year 1799 by the contributors of the Bank of England, the East India Company, the neighbouring fire officers, together with the bankers & traders of the Ward of Cornhill.

We understand "the neighbouring fire officers" to mean the four fire assurance companies represented by their insignia on the four sides near the top.

Site: Cornhill pump (5 memorials)

EC3, Cornhill

Around the top are some delightful reliefs in iron of the badges of early fire insurance companies: Sun, Phoenix, London and Royal Exchange. These are all crudely coloured with red, gold, blue.  See 'Also at this site'.

This water pump, designed by architect Nathaniel Wright, is Grade II listed, where it is described “Obelisk of cast iron with canted corners, slight decoration and long inscriptions. Granite trough probably of later date.” As you can see from our photos the pump is (2011) in a dreadful state of repair. Let's hope someone notices soon and perhaps the modern day equivalents of its original erectors will fund its restoration.

2015: prompted by Jon Pettigrew on Facebook we must report that the pump was indeed restored not long after we photographed it.  (Keeping London Remembers up-to-date could become a full-time job.)  But the splendid A London Inheritance has photographed it for us, and provided some earlier photos and history.

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Cornhill pump

Subjects commemorated i

Henry Wallis

Mayor of London in 1282. Wikipedia gives "Henry le Waleys" as the name and sa...

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Tun prison, Cornhill

The Sole Society say The Tun "stood here between 1283 and 1401 and was used i...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Cornhill pump

Created by i

Bank of England

Londonist have an interesting post about animals at the Bank of England. The...

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East India Company

Formed as a trading company but went on to effectively rule India, on behalf ...

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Phillips & Hopwood

From Village Pumps: "Samuel Phillips was making fire engines by 1760; in 1797...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Cornhill pump

Also at this site i

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The plaque spells Thomson without a 'p' and, given the Hugh Gyle-Thompson that our researches found, we think the plaque is in error.

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Police bricks

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