Lloyd’s of London
One weekend in London each year, hundreds of buildings across the capital throw open doors to the public in a veritable feast of architecture that is the Open House Weekend.
We took the opportunity on Saturday to visit the famous Lloyd’s of London building, and we were certainly not the only ones.. Despite the large crowds the queue moved quickly and it wasn’t long before we were inside the building.
Lloyd’s history goes back to the 17th century where the first insurance policies for ships were taken out in the coffee houses owned by Edward Lloyd, which has now developed into a worldwide insurance market place where hundreds of underwriters and brokers do business.
The current building was completed in 1986 and is similar in style to the Pompidou building in Paris, with all it’s pipes and services on the outside of the building. Even the bottom of the escalators are transparent.
An interesting feature in the main auditorium are the loss books, where all ships lost at sea are recorded in a large book using a quill. On the left here is the book from 100 years ago and on the right the current book with a recent entry.
Also in the auditorium is a bell that traditionally was rung to signal momentous events – 1 ring for a disaster, 2 rings for good news.
Ascending to the upper floors via the glass lifts which are actually on the outside of the building gives you a good view of the surrounding area.
On the 11th floor is the Adam’s Room, which is an adaption of an 18th century dining room, bought at auction in 1956 and installed in the previous Lloyd’s building, then transferred to the new Lloyd’s building in 1986.
There’s certainly plenty of spectacular views to be had throughout the building, I’m sure that people must drift off in meetings and just stare out the windows.
It’s certainly an historic and fascinating building, although as you can see the lower floors are quite crowded and very much open plan, not much privacy to be had!
Lloyd’s of London
1 Lime Street
London EC3M 7HA
