Lloyds of London

The insurance undertaking Lloyds can look back on a tradition which has lasted for 300 years. It originated in a coffee house owned by one Edward Lloyd, where ships' captains, shipowners and merchants used to meet and arrange insurance for their vessels and cargoes. Lloyds is not an insurance company in the usual sense of the term but a concern which arranges policies with individual insurance firms.

The new building, opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1986, was designed by Richard Rogers, the architect who also designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The architectural novelty of the building is that the internal fittings - elevators and stairs and pipes - are placed on the outside, which gives the building a bizarre appearance. The interior is laid out as an atrium with 14 stories, rising to a height of 76m/250ft. In the center of the interior under a baldachin hangs the bell recovered from the French frigate "Lutine" in 1799, which had a cargo of silver and which was insured with Lloyds. The bell used to be rung once to indicate bad news and twice for good tidings. It is now rung only on special occasions. Nearby stands a high desk, on which lies an account book. Even today the traditional practise is maintained, that when a ship which is insured with Lloyds sinks, an entry in this book is made with a quill pen. Since a bomb was found in the viewing gallery the interior of the building is no longer open to the public.