Relief

Royal Exchange Assurance

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:
Royal Exchange Assurance

Subjects commemorated i

Royal Exchange Assurance

The offices of this company were in the Royal Exchange.  Their insignia depic...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Royal Exchange Assurance

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

Battishill Gardens

Battishill Gardens

N1, Napier Terrace, Battishill Gardens

This stone frieze (13 metres long, 2 metres high) was originally unveiled on the Hall of Commerce in 1842.

3 subjects commemorated, 5 creators
Temple Bar memorial - Prince of Wales's typhoid recovery

Temple Bar memorial - Prince of Wales's typhoid recovery

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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
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
1 Poultry - Frieze C - Charles II

1 Poultry - Frieze C - Charles II

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
1 Poultry - Frieze A - Edward VI

1 Poultry - Frieze A - Edward VI

EC2, Poultry, 1

These panels, showing Royal Progresses through London, were originally placed as spandrels between the floors of a building in Poultry, V...

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators