When we were looking for information on the Fire Cock signs, we read that there were some signs on buildings in Cork showing that they were insured by different companies.
The Waterworks Fire Brigade was set up in 1860. Before then, there were lots of different fire brigades. Each insurance company had its own fire brigade and would put out the fire in a house only if the house was insured with that company. If it wasn’t insured, they let it burn. The insurance fire engines started in Cork in 1799.
On some streets now, we can see lots of different burglar alarm signs on the front of houses. On others, we can see different satellite dishes. In the 1800’s the fronts of houses had lots of different fire insurance marks. Some were of copper. Some were made of metal. Some were colourful.
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Mr. Pat Poland says that in 1844/45 there were 58 different insurance companies with 32 different marks.
When Pat Poland wrote his book in 2010, there were four of these marks left in Cork. The one on Camden Quay is not there anymore so we went to look at the other three.
These signs show that the two buildings were insured with Royal Exchange.
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My granduncle lived in the building in George’s Quay. It was a pub called The Buckingham. He said the pub was actually owned by Beamish & Crawford but he did not remember anything about the sign.
It was called The Buckingham because it is actually on Buckingham Place.
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There is one in Montenotte for the Protector Insurance Company. It is made of copper.
There was a fire in the house and Mr and Mrs Cummins had to escape onto the flat roof because the flames and heat were inside. The firemen had to help them down the ladder on the fire engine.
Mrs Cummins had to jump into the arms of the fireman. The brigade put out the fire.
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We contacted Mr Dan Breen. He is the Museum Curator. We all went out to Fitzgerald’s Park to the Museum.
We all put on the white gloves to touch it. It came from South Main Street and was made by the Caladonian Insurance Company.
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It is a mark saying Caledonian. It is made of copper. Caledonia is another name for Scotland. There is a thistle on the sign. A thistle is the Flower of Scotland.
The label says that it was the third object received by the Museum in 1977 – that is how they record their things. They store them in cardboard boxes.
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These signs on the buildings were not just in Cork, they were also in other cities.
When Izzy was swimming in Limerick, she went to Pery Square where there are two plaques to the Globe Insurance Company. They are like a globe because they have part of the same shape.
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