Firemark of the Glasgow Insurance Company

Fire insurance companies fixed firemarks to the outside of buildings to show that they were insured and could be recognised by a fire brigade. This lead firemark is of the Glasgow Insurance Company and dates from the 18th or early 19th century.

The firemark is decorated with the Glasgow coat of arms - a bird, a tree, a fish, a ring and a bell.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries insurance schemes were run by friendly societies, self-help groups and some companies. Property could be insured against fire by paying a premium to companies which ran their own fire brigades.

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