David Castleton (Author) on Nostr: The Lutine Bell can be found in the headquarters of Lloyds of London, probably the ...

The Lutine Bell can be found in the headquarters of Lloyds of London, probably the most famous insurance market in the world. The bell was salvaged from the French ship La Lutine (The Sprite), which was wrecked off the Dutch coast in 1799. The bell - placed in the underwriting room - would be rung when an important maritime announcement was to be made. If a ship had arrived safely, the bell would be rung once. If the news was bad - the ship was delayed or sunk - it would ring twice. The sound of the bell always brought an anxious silence across the room as people waited to see if it would ring a second - doleful - time. Some claim the bell gave birth to a superstition: that when a glass rings after being accidently struck, the sound must immediately be stopped to 'save a sailor from drowning'. There is, however, no firm evidence this is the case. #history #folklore #London #finance #weird #gothic #insurance #sailing