Fire Mark - Rectory Lane, Bushey, Hertfordshire, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

For most of the 18th century, each insurance company maintained its own fire brigade, which extinguished fires in those buildings insured by the company and, in return for a fee to be paid later, in buildings insured by other companies. By 1825, fire marks served more as advertisements than as useful identifying marks; some insurance companies no longer issued fire marks, and those that did sometimes left them up after a policy had expired. Successive combinations of fire brigades led to virtually the entire city of London being put under the protection of the London Fire Engine Establishment, which fought not only the fires of policy holders but those of nonsubscribers, the reason being that fires in uninsured buildings could rapidly spread to insured buildings.

Type of Historic Marker: Fire Mark Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Phoenix Assurance Co (1782-1984) Related Website: [Web Link] Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   06/08/2015 Master Mariner visited it