Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England London Signs of Old Lombard Street
AO Edited

Signs of Old Lombard Street

The last four extravagant street signs of London's historic banking street.

London, England

Added By
Valerie Robbins
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Grasshopper.   Elisa Rolle/CC BY-SA 4.0
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Street sign   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
Anchor.   vrobbins / Atlas Obscura User
Cat-a-fiddling.   vrobbins / Atlas Obscura User
Grasshopper.   vrobbins / Atlas Obscura User
Head and crown.   vrobbins / Atlas Obscura User
Head and crown.   Elisa Rolle/CC BY-SA 4.0
Cat-a-fiddling.   Elisa Rolle/CC BY-SA 4.0
The anchor   rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
  AdOYo / Atlas Obscura User
  AdOYo / Atlas Obscura User
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
  AdOYo / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

London's version of Wall Street has a long, historic past. Alexander Pope was born there. Karl Marx name-drops it in "Das Kapital." And an old-fashioned idiom, "Lombard-street to a China orange," remarks on heavily weighted odds. But one of it's most notable characteristics is its distinct street signs, which wound up influencing the logos of modern corporations.

In its early years Lombard Street amassed about 138 signs. Business owners steadily built their signs bigger and farther out over the street in attempts to garner more attention. The striking signs featured images rather than words because most people couldn’t read at the time they originally went up. As time went on, the companies based on the street incorporated the images into their own logos; the Barclays spread eagle is a prime example.

Eventually, the signs posed real threats to passersby—several of the signs were so heavy they pulled their respective building’s facade down into the street. After the Great Fire in 1666, which destroyed the street, owners who were rebuilding their businesses opted to make signs out of stone, which also posed weight-related issues.

By the 1800s the extravagant signs were all but gone from Lombard Street. In 1902, Frederick George Hilton Price, a banker on Lombard, and the author of The Signs of Old Lombard Street, helped resurrect 23 of the signs to correspond with the coronation of King Edward VII. Among them were a grasshopper, the family heraldic symbol of a Thomas Grisham who founded the Royal exchange, an anchor, a cat playing a fiddle, and a crown above a head. They're the only four that remain today.

The signs have been moved on numerous occasions, switching from one side of the street to the other. But among all the changing of hands, they helped to shape the businesses on what’s thought of as London’s Wall Street. The four remaining signs are all on or near 68 Lombard Street. The emblems that helped give meaning to the street double as its history markers.

Related Tags

Roads Cities History Banks Medieval Signs

Know Before You Go

The signs are directly in front of the King William Streer / Lombard Street exit from Bank Station between Abchurch Lane and Nicholas Lane. 

Community Contributors

Added By

vrobbins

Edited By

Monsieur Mictlan, AdOYo, jooniur, SEANETTA...

  • Monsieur Mictlan
  • AdOYo
  • jooniur
  • SEANETTA
  • Michael Inscoe
  • rbenn250
  • Gavin

Published

September 7, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://historylondon.org/lombard-street-signs-how-londons-banks-got-their-logos/
Signs of Old Lombard Street
68 Lombard St
London, England
United Kingdom
51.512841, -0.087156
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Statue of James Henry Greathead

London, England

miles away

London's Original and All-Inspiring Coffee House

London, England

miles away

Mansion House Square

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 108

Nearby Places

Statue of James Henry Greathead

London, England

miles away

London's Original and All-Inspiring Coffee House

London, England

miles away

Mansion House Square

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 108

Related Places

  • The pyramid shaped chapel & museum

    Bessans, France

    Mont Cenis

    From Carthage's Hannibal to riders of the Tour de France, many have crossed this scenic route through the Alps.

  • Tuhinj Valley

    Laze v Tuhinju, Slovenia

    Tuhinj Valley

    A beautiful drive through the foot of the Alps traces the path of 15th-century Turkish raids.

  • A street name in tiles in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

    New Orleans, Louisiana

    Street Name Tiles of New Orleans

    This distinctive Crescent City tradition dates back to the days of horse-drawn carriages.

  • The Clock Tower.

    Sighișoara, Romania

    Towers of Sighișoara

    Nine centuries-old fortresses guard the walls of this medieval Romanian city.

  • Plaque at Calle 59

    Mérida, Mexico

    Los Rincones de Mérida

    Iconic red and white plaques show the creative names invented to navigate the city streets.

  • The causeway part of the bridge over the floodplain and marshes

    Derbyshire, England

    Swarkestone Bridge

    The longest stone bridge in England has an impressive history that dates back over 700 years.

  • The Fountain of the Innocents is one of the few surviving pieces of the lost cemetery.

    Paris, France

    Fountain of Innocents

    A 16th-century fountain marks the site of a lost medieval cemetery once filled with mass graves.

  • Washington, D.C.

    Capitalsaurus Court

    The discovery site of the "Capitalsaurus," the official dinosaur of Washington, D.C.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.