Bream Heritage Walk

Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Plate

A photo of Highbury House Insurance Plate

A photo showing detail of the insurance plate
A photo showing detail of the insurance plate

Insurance Plate or Advertisement?

Below the Date Stone set high up on the front of Highbury House on Bream High Street is a metal plate. The green colouration on it indicates that the metal copper may be present in it’s make-up. A search on the web turned up a similar plate – below:

A plate for Liverpool & London & Globe insurance
Liverpool & London & Globe

The 1836 date in the above plate is the year the company was founded. On close inspection, the details on the two plates (apart from the colours) look identical.

The former owner of Highbury House recalls a similar plate on the adjoining house – but that one was removed many years ago – however the fixing holes can still be seen.

Liverpool & London & Globe were an insurance company, so the plate may be an advertisement for insurance sold in the adjoining building which was an early Bream post office?

A photo showing Bream Post Office in 1991
Bream Post Office in 1991

Highbury House c.1915

Old photos of Highbury House and Bream Post Office c.1915
Courtesy of sungreen.co.uk

The plate does not appear to be present in the above photo of Highbury House thought to date from around 1915. By 1926, the Miners Welfare Hall, later Bream Cinema and Bream Rugby Club had been built on the land behind the young lady.
(Regarding the snow in the photo: the winter of 1916-1917 saw heavy snowfall, so the photo may date from then.)