Relief

Sun 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.

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

Subjects commemorated i

Sun Fire Office

Founded in London, now the oldest existing insurance company in the world.

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

CI - 6 - Wine

CI - 6 - Wine

EC3, Cornhill, 32

The carved doors are at the right of the building, behind the cyclist in our picture.  According to Esoteric London these panels, listed ...

3 subjects commemorated, 2 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
Lopping Hall - licensed

Lopping Hall - licensed

IG10, Station Road, Lopping Hall

Initially we thought this inscription referred to the 1878 Epping Forest Act of Parliament but then we came across another community buil...

3 subjects commemorated
Saville Theatre - Khaki

Saville Theatre - Khaki

WC2, Shaftesbury Avenue, Odeon Covent Garden

This shows Ernie Lotinga in the play 'Khaki'.

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Thomas More - N4

Thomas More - N4

N4, Henry Road, 9, St Thomas More Catholic Church

There are sculpted lions couchant on a number of entrance piers in this area, one just to the right, outside our photo, and a pair at eac...

1 subject commemorated