Monday 14 October 2013

Lloyds of London

The 3rd weekend in September is always Open House London. It first started in London in 1992 and now takes place in over 20 countries. If you are interested in buildings it is the ideal way to see inside some familiar buildings which are not usually open to the public. This year 800 buildings and engineering sites were open over the weekend  and I have seen some very interesting and unusual buildings over the years. However, the one I've always wanted to see is Lloyds of London. The queues have always put me off but this year I was determined and arrived early to join the queue. Time passed quickly as everyone was chatting and joking in the long line. After about an hour and a half I was inside the building.








Built by Richard Rogers partnership in 1986 it has won many awards as has another Rogers building - Pompidou Centre in Paris. There are similarities with both buildings being almost inside out.
 

This is the barrel vaulted glass roof which is 60m high.




The escalators are in the centre of the building whilst the 12 glass lifts run up and down the towers on the outside of the building providing the occupants with magnificent views across London.






Also on display is the log book from HMS Euryalus which contains the message Nelson sent to his fleet before the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 ' England expects that every man will do his duty'.





These are the outer garments worn by the doormen who are referred to as 'Waiters'. This is a throwback to the origins of Lloyds when it all began in a coffee shop in the 17th cent. Merchants gathered information in coffee houses, each one a centre of specilised interest. Edward Lloyd's coffee shop was the centre for ships and money. It was here that ship owners gathered to gain insurance from wealthy merchants. Today Lloyds conducts business in more than 200 countries and territories.



View from one of the lifts.




This room designed by the architect Robert Adam in 1763 was bought at auction and installed into the 1958 Lloyds building.  The room was put into its present home in 1986 and is used for meetings as well as dining.













Looking down onto the dealing floor.


The Rostrum dominates the ground floor of the Room. The famous Lutine bell hangs in the Rostrum and has traditionally been rung to herald important announcements. One stroke for bad news and two strokes for good news. The bell was carried on board the HMS Lutine when she sank with her cargo of gold and silver in 1799. The ship was insured by Lloyds underwriters and was paid in full (£83m in today's money).



 
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25 comments:

  1. What an amazing looking store!! Fun place to shop!!! Wonderful captures for the day!! Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a great week!!

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  2. So many points of interest, right down to the last story of the ashes! No doubt you were pleased you chose to queue and visit Lloyds this year.

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  3. So much interesting info! I didn't think about modern buildings being open that day, only historical ones. Not sure I would have had the patience to wait 1 1/2 hours though ....

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  4. I read some about Lloyds of London, it is a market specialized in selling insurance? I was not sure if it is similar to the Wall Street here in NYC? The building is amazing, I could see waiting in line to see the inside. Thanks for sharing, have a happy week!

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  5. Excellent write up on Lloyds, I have always admired the architecture and would love to see the place but you have given a superb insight into the place.

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  6. Fascinating. Some quite spectacular shots amongst this collection. Nice work.

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  7. The “Open House” concept is fabulous especially when you have such a grand past and interesting architecture. It must be wonderful to reside in a land that is crammed with history!

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  8. What a great building - I'd love to get inside it for some photos. Yours turned out well.

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  9. Wow! This is an incredible view of such a well-known name! Thanks for sharing--I'm so glad you waited!

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  10. A great building. I would find 90 minutes too long to wait though. For buildings as popular as that, here we have a ballot system. Still, I expect you soon forget the waiting time as you look at the wonder of the building. I spy The Gherkin outside.

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  11. Wow! What an adventure for you such fantastic photography ~ magnificent ~ carol, xo
    thanks for coming by ~ do come again ^_^

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  12. That is an amazing piece of architecture and so much history behind it. The Robert Adam's room is so beautiful and such a contrast to other parts of the building.

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  13. Wow - what an amazing building! Lots of history. Glad you persisted and got to visit.

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  14. Love the interiors of the building!

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  15. Wonderful structures, very unique.

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  16. I would have queued up too ! Looks very interesting and far better then the Centre Pompidou, which I personally find very ugly !

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  17. It seems Lloyds are more interested in looking after the Ashes than many current Australia cricket players - he said with a grin!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  18. I love those monuments weekends, but the lines are awfull here too. But sometimes you have no choice to watch something special and is it worth to wait a while. I would have have visited the Lloyds building myself too, I am always curious to watch what is inside when you pass an interesting building. This one looks very interesting inside.

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  19. Great shots! I'm finally back home and catching up on my blog reading. I always enjoy your adventures. :-)

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  20. Much as I hate London this does seem like a fascinating place to visit.

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  21. Oh my goodness! That is a great looking building.

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  22. Thanks for the time info on Open House London; will keep that in mind for a future visit. The HMS Euryalus log book is one amazing historical object to look at.

    Hazel

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  23. That sure is an exciting building and I can see some similarity with the Pompidou centre. Gosh 800 buildings. That will take a life tie to see at one weekend a year. Well done for queuing for so long but it sure looks like it was worth it.

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  24. That was fascinating! Marvelous building. I hate standing in line, but that would have been worth it. Interesting about the bell..imagining them standing around thinking about when its bad news (and wondering if they thought about human lives or just $$).....The Open House is such a great idea for a City (I read about it on Diane's blog for Brisbane, didn't realize it originated in London. Very cool.

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