Fire mark

Fire marks were placed on the outside of buildings to indicate that the property was insured by a specific company. This identification was particularly important in London before the introduction of street numbering in the 1760s. Householders with fire insurance could expect the company to send its 'fire brigade' to put out the fire. Insurance companies often had reciprocal arrangements with each other so that if a fire brigade put out a fire at a house insured by a different company then the brigade's company would be reimbursed. In 1826 an agreement was reached between the Sun Fire office, the Royal Exchange Assurance and the Phoenix Fire Office to combine their brigades under the leadership of one superintendent. This provided the basis for the creation of the London Fire Engine Establishment in 1833.

This fire mark was issued by the Alliance, British and Foreign Fire and Life Insurance Company. The company was formed in 1824 on the initiative of financiers Sir Moses Montefiore and Nathan Mayer Rothschild. Based at 4 New Court, St Swithin's Lane in the City of London, the company quickly expanded into the international insurance market offering fire and life insurance policies to clients in the West Indies and India. The company's fire brigade fought a number of famous London fires, including the 1838 blaze that burnt down the Royal Exchange. The mark shows a castle on a rock, an emblem of strength and stability.