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THE SALAMANDER | JULY 2017
For those who booked to attend the Fire
Lecture in July 2016 there was an added
bonus. Past Master Alan Wells arranged for 10
lucky participants, drawn at random, to visit the
Lloyd’s building at One Lime Street.
This was a visit that went well beyond the scenes
that members of the public have access to. Our
official Lloyd’s tour guide was Peter Fletcher,
who described the history of the building and
showed some of its famous features. The
building was designed by Richard Rogers
and Partners and is famous for housing the
services, such as the lifts and ducting, on the
outside. This design allows for a large, flexible,
light- filled atrium to be used as the working
space. Completed in 1986, after only 25 years,
the building received Grade 1 listed status.
Mr Fletcher outlined the history of the various
London sites that Lloyd’s had occupied, starting
with Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House in Tower
Street around 1688, but the focus of his talk
was, of course, the current Lloyd’s building.
We saw the famous Underwriters’ trading floor,
which also displays an emblemof Lloyd’smarine
insurance history, the Lutine Bell. The bell came
from HMS Lutine, formerly a captured French
frigate, after it sank off the Dutch coast in 1796,
killing almost the entire crew and passengers,
and with the loss of a cargo of gold and silver
bullion valued, then, at one million pounds. The
cargo had been insured by Lloyd’s underwriters,
who paid in full. Traditionally, the bell was struck
to signify the loss of a ship or the return of an
overdue ship.
We then moved to the Council Room on the
11th floor to view the famous Adam Room.
Designed by Robert Adam in 1763 for Bowood
House in Wiltshire, this former dining room
was purchased by Lloyd’s and installed in their
earlier Lime Street headquarters in 1958, later
being moved to the current building. Furnished
in a style fitting to its origins, the room is in stark
contrast to the modern design of the building in
which it is housed.
A high-point of the tour was a talk by Trevor
Jennings, Risk Manager, Lloyd’s Property
Services. We were treated to a view of the
control centre and back-up systems for the
building and a talk on fire precautions within
the complex environment such a high-risk city
centre building poses.
After which, we all wended our way back to
Insurance Hall for the Fire Lecture, including a
drama based on the Great Fire of London.
David Holt
PR & Marketing Committee.
Worshipful Company of Firefighters
Visit to the Lloyd’s
Building
A visit to one of the City’s most iconic
buildings.
The Lutine bell (seen in the background)
came from HMS Lutine, formerly a captured
French frigate