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

Festival of Britain - Science

Festival of Britain - Science

W1, Oxford Street, 213

The relief shows a pair of compasses, globe, hour-glass, rolled document, anchor, some cogs and two buildings on the Festival site: the D...

1 subject commemorated
Hungarian uprising

Hungarian uprising

SW7, Exhibition Road, 55

In memory of the victims of the Hungarian uprising of 1956.

1 subject commemorated
1 Poultry - Frieze D - Victoria

1 Poultry - Frieze D - Victoria

EC2, Poultry, 1

Number One Poultry, built in 1995 in a post-modern style, and voted by Time Out readers the fifth worst building in London. Designed by t...

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators
Faraday on the ICI building entrance doors

Faraday on the ICI building entrance doors

SW1, Millbank, 9, Imperial Chemical House

These doors are in the centre of the river frontage of the building. Mapping of sculpture alerted us to this memorial: "The ground floor...

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