Royal Exchange "Fire Mark"

A lead fire mark for the Royal Exchange.

The fire mark is embossed and engraved with the number 214569 pressed into the lead and mounted on a later mahogany frame which is made to hang on the wall.

After the Great Fire of London in 1666 companies set up serious forms of insurance protection. Mindful that few streets were named and the buildings were not numbered, some form of identification was necessary, and the birth of the fire mark came about.

The first examples were made of lead, and some hundred years later followed by copper, tinned iron, zinc, brass and ceramic. They bore the logo of the insurance company, in many cases in the form of the county’s coat of arms. The emblems that were attached to buildings by the insurance company’s employee were called Fire Marks; to mark the building indicating that they insured it and/or the contents, for fire risks.

The lead is in good condition but does have old nail holes from previous hanging. (Circa 1720 - 1968)

Height 20.5cm (8.1 inches)
Width 22.5cm (8.9 inches)
Depth 3cm (1.2 inches)