Our first online exhibition, Rising from the Ashes, was launched in September. It tells the story of the very early fire insurance that came out of the Great Fire of London. Famous entrepreneur Nicolas Barbon came up with the concept to charge property owners for a policy that would cover their buildings in case of fire. He called his company the Fire Office, which later became the Phenix. He invented the fire mark and developed an idea of a fire service, which was run by the insurance company. This set the template for fire insurance companies for the next century.
To celebrate the first three months of Rising from the Ashes, we are running a competition to win a bottle of bubbly. There are three questions to answer, which you can find in Rising from the Ashes:
- Where did Samuel Pepys witness “that dismal spectacle, the whole citty in dreadful flames near ye waterside”? https://insurance.museum/rising-from-the-ashes#greatfire/5
- Which one of these items was not used in the Great Fire of London?
- A Squirt
- A Hook
- Gunpowder
- Sand
https://insurance.museum/rising-from-the-ashes#section-66008264/2
- Where was Nicolas Barbon’s Fire Office (the first fire insurance company in London) established in 1667? https://insurance.museum/rising-from-the-ashes#section-69b5e5c2
Finally, what is your score in Douse the Great Fire? https://insurance.museum/Builds/index.html (this one is just a bit of fun).
Please send you answers to info@insurancemuseum.uk. The winner with the correct answers will be pulled out of a hat on 9 January 2023.
Terms and Conditions
The competition is open to UK residents.
The competition is run between 1 November 2022 to 9 January 2023.
Entries should be submitted by email to info@insurancemuseum.uk
The winner will be randomly selected from the entrants who correctly answers the three questions.
