By the Royal Exchange, you will find a fantastic historical leftover: an old water pump.
It is very easy to miss but it has some great details on it that give insights into its history and the City more generally.
A Recent Refurbishment
Before I get into the history I wanted to show you what the pump looked like before a restoration in 2013.
As you can see, it once had a trough in front of it, that has since been removed.
Today, you can see it has also been repainted in this white and cream colour scheme rather than the blue.
A Lost Well
It is thought that a well was first dug here on Cornhill in 1282, providing water to Londoners.
Cornhill is one of the most ancient thoroughfares in the city, possibly with Roman origins. It is named after a historic corn market that once took place here in the medieval period.
A ‘House of Correction’ was also constructed here in the 13th century by the mayor at the time, Henry Wallis.
A ‘House of Correction’ was a place where vagrants and the idle poor would be put to work to reform their character. It is thought the House of Correction, along with a pillory for punishing troublemakers were demolished in 1380.
The well was subsequently, it seems, covered over and forgotten.
The Pump Erected
In 1799 the well was rediscovered and this pump set up on the site.
A news article from the time said: “By the sinking of the pavement nearly opposite the front gate of the Royal Exchange a very large deep well of great antiquity has been discovered. The water is of excellent quality, and the ward of Cornhill purpose erecting a pump near the spot.”
It was originally in the middle of the road but moved here in 1848. The designer was Nathaniel Wright who also designed St Botolph without Aldersgate Church.
It was financed by some of the institutions in the area: the Bank of England, the East India Company, the bankers and traders of the area and four fire insurance companies.
Fire Insurance Companies
The four logos of the fire insurance companies can be seen on the four sides.
In this period multiple private fire insurance companies operated in London with their own private firefighting teams.
Signed up customers would be given a plaque with the company logo and their policy number to stick to the side of their house. If they had a fire, the private firefighting teams would kick into action, check which plaque they had and if it was theirs then they would put the fire out.
You can spot old surviving fire insurance plaques around London occasionally.
In 1833 the fire insurance companies teamed up to form a co-owned London Fire Engine Establishment. In 1865 the government took over the running of it and the London Fire Brigade was born.
The Logos
This is the logo of the Royal Exchange Fire Office and depicts the second incarnation of the Royal Exchange. The first, shown below, which opened in 1571 burnt down in the Great Fire in 1666.
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The second incarnation, depicted on the pump, burnt down in 1838. It was apparently an incredibly cold day when the fire broke out and the Cornhill pump had frozen, so was unable to be used to subdue the blaze.
The current Royal Exchange dates from 1844.
Below is the symbol of the Sun Fire Office established in 1710.
It later became Sun Insurance, combining with Alliance Assurance in 1824 to become Sun Alliance. Sun Alliance joined with Royal Insurance in 1996 becoming Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Group, or RSA.
Another Piece Of Street Furniture
Just to finish, right next to it you can find another piece of street furniture: a Victoria postbox!
You can, of course, tell it was put up during the reign of Queen Victoria because of the VR regnal cypher on the side.
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Thank you, Jack. I always enjoy reading your posts
Just for info, ‘fecerunt’ is the 3rd person plural and past tense, so translates as “(they) made”. In Latin the verb almost always goes at the end of the sentence, as here. So it’s just completing the sentence of “X made (this)”
I should get out more – on some walks!
Fecerunt They made it
As Jack points out in his blog there are lots of interesting landmarks in London streets and each one tells a fascinating story. The water pump on Cornhill is a great example. Thanks for drawing our attention to the pump Jack we will look out for it next time we visit.
Fascinating! Any idea what happened to the water trough? It seems a shame that it was removed.
Hi Jack. I always enjoy your email newsletters. In today’s you say that ‘Fecerunt’ is Latin for ‘to do’. It actually comes from facere, to do or, more relevant in this instance, to make. Fecerunt means they made. It is the plural version of the more commonly found ‘fecit’, he or she made, often seen on works of art or buildings together with the name of the artist or architect.
Best, Kevan
Thanks Jack for this interesting post, do you know where the trough ended up?
Dear Jack: “Fecerunt” in Latin means “have made (this)” – therefore, “Phillips & Hopwood, Engine Makers, made this”. You will sometimes see inscriptions on ancient buildings, where the architect inscribed, “(name) Fecit”, which is the singular first person version of the word. Sincerely, Eileen (a fan in the US).
Very interesting thank you
Great Post today. “The Cornhill Pumps” would be a great band name!
Great Stuff. My new dream visit to London includes a tour with you! Thank you.
very interesting,have a good holiday
The Hand in Hand was one of the oldest fire and life insurance companies, founded in 1696. It was acquired by Commercial Union in 1905 and after their merger with Norwich Union it is now part of Aviva.