Relief

Phoenix Fire Office

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.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Phoenix Fire Office

Subjects commemorated i

Phoenix Fire Office

Bryan Mawer says "In 1782, the Phoenix Fire Office was established by sugar r...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Phoenix Fire Office

Also at this site i

Cornhill pump

Cornhill pump

We understand "the neighbouring fire officers" to mean the four fire assuranc...

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Nearby Memorials

Sir Leonard Hutton - diagram

Sir Leonard Hutton - diagram

SE11, Kennington Oval, John Edrich Gate

We assume that if one added all the digits together the total would be 364 runs (the record innings that Hutton set in 1938), but we're n...

1 subject commemorated
Zaehnsdorf bookbinders

Zaehnsdorf bookbinders

WC2, Shaftesbury Avenue, 144

Tiger Growl spotted this charming relief on the second floor balcony of this flatiron building. We've identified the activity as bookbin...

1 subject commemorated
Temple Bar memorial - Prince of Wales's typhoid recovery

Temple Bar memorial - Prince of Wales's typhoid recovery

EC4, Fleet Street

This is the site of the 17th century Temple Bar entrance to the City of London. Having become an obstruction to circulation it was remove...

4 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
St Antholin Church, demolished

St Antholin Church, demolished

EC4, Queen Victoria Street

Over recent years (2011) this church has acquired at least 3 modern plaques whose purpose is, we think, mainly to entice visitors inside ...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Saville Theatre - Punch & Judy

Saville Theatre - Punch & Judy

WC2, Shaftesbury Avenue, Odeon Covent Garden

The ‘Drama Through the Ages’ frieze is by Gilbert Bayes. The listing says "Bayes' frieze is one of the largest and most important works o...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator