Plaque

Richard Biddulph Martin

Erection date: 6/11/1906

Inscription

This stone was laid by Sir Richard Biddulph Martin, Baronet, Novem. VI AD MCMVI {Nov. 6 1906}.

London, Edinburgh and Glasgow Assurance Company had an account with Martin's Bank.

Site: 30 Euston Square (4 memorials)

NW1, Euston Square, 30

The Martin plaque is above the door, inside the projecting porch in Melton Street, shown in our photo. The Duke of Edinburgh plaque is on a public wall inside the ground floor of the building. The foundation stone for the extension is low on the Euston Road frontage, to the left of our photo, between the parked bike and the person in the dark red coat.

2022: we cannot see the plaque to Indian doctors on the outside of the building and the people in reception knew nothing about it so we have to assume it is lost, or was never erected other than on the easel.

There is a cafe on the ground floor of the building and there are often small exhibitions here. Do go in and have a look - the tiling in the large foyer area is lovely.

A leaflet we picked up in the building and the Wikipedia page together provide the following.

The original 1906-8 building, with the Melton Street frontage, was built as the HQ of the London, Edinburgh and Glasgow Assurance Company, and is now listed Grade II*. LEGAC specialised in providing welfare insurance for low income workers and their families. This was one of the first purpose-built office buildings in an area that was primarily residential. LEGAC was taken over by Pearl Assurance which donated the building to the new National Amalgamated Approved Society in 1912.

Over time the original architect, Beresford Pite added extensions: to the roof - 1913, and to the north - 1923. The large extension giving it a long Euston Road frontage (part of Beresford Pite's original vision) was by W. H. Gunton in 1932.

With the creation of the NHS the NAAS ceased to exist and the building was taken over by the government in 1948 and then passed back into private hands. After a period of vacancy the Royal College of General Practitioners took it over and in October 2012 it re-opened as their HQ.

The National Library of Medicine has a splendid page on this building with some original Beresford Pite drawings.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Richard Biddulph Martin

Subjects commemorated i

Sir Richard Biddulph Martin

Banker and Liberal politician. Made baronet, of Overbury Court in 1905. Wikip...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Richard Biddulph Martin

Also at this site i

Foundation Stone NAAS

Foundation Stone NAAS

This plaque refers to the Euston Road extension to the original 1908 Beresfor...

Read More

Indian doctors in the NHS

Indian doctors in the NHS

We only know about this plaque from an article in the 24 November 2019 Hindus...

Read More

RCGP opened in this building

RCGP opened in this building

The Royal College of General Practitioners Opened by the patron, His Royal Hi...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Waterloo Free Buffet - WW1

Waterloo Free Buffet - WW1

SE1, Waterloo Station between platforms 11 and 13

Lovely bronze plaque to a heartening war-time British service.

1 subject commemorated
Major Francis Harvey VC

Major Francis Harvey VC

SE13, Lewisham High Street

The plaque is on the ground near the Lewisham war memorial.

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn

SW1, Hobart Place, 4

Felix Mendelssohn, 1809 - 1847, composer stayed here. English Heritage

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Vauxhall lavender garden

Vauxhall lavender garden

SW8, Vauxhall Park

The stones laid in the ground nearest the camera were, we think, once the base for a bench, now gone. The inscription is on the the stone...

1 subject commemorated
Sir Alec Guinness - WC2

Sir Alec Guinness - WC2

WC2, Upper St Martin's Lane, Guild House

The building is offices for Equity, the actor's union.

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

David Backhouse

David Backhouse

Designer and sculptor. Born Corsham.

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial
G. W. Hall
War dead, WW1
1 memorial