Insurance Companies in the City of London in 1900

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Imperial London, by Arthur H. Beavan, first published in 1901, had this to say about the insurance companies to be found in the environs of the Bank of England:

In 1900, Insurance Offices were prominent features in the streets adjoining the Bank of England; some of them quite imposing in appearance, and suggestive of prosperity.

In Cornhill was the "Scottish Widows' Insurance Office," a handsome building with massive red granite columns.

Also in Cornhill were the "Commercial Union Life, Fire, and Marine Company," a fine office; and the "Mutual Life Insurance" of New York (opposite the Royal Exchange), one of the grandest of City edifices, and in one of the best positions.

In Bartholomew Lane was the "Alliance Assurance Company," with stately-pillared frontage; and the well-known "Sun Office" stood at the corner of the Lane and Threadneedle Street.

The "Gresham," with massive red granite columns, was in the Poultry; while in Holborn, the "Prudential," built of terra-cotta and red brick, was on as vast a scale as its paid-up capital.

People who are familiar with that handsome building, the Bourse, which, in Paris, represents the Stock Exchange, will look in vain for its prototype in London, where it is encompassed by uninteresting buildings and hidden from view.

Next: Mercantile London in 1900: The Royal Mint