Fire insurance plaques are metal plaques marked with the emblem of the insurance company which were affixed to the front of insured buildings and were used by the Insurance companies’ firemen to recognise the buildings in case of fire. These identification marks were used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the days before municipal fire services were formed. The first to use the mark was the Sun Fire Office which was established in 1710.
The plaque on 15 Chapel Road for Sun Fire is a replica which dates from 1986. However there are at least five other such fire insurance plaques on older buildings within the village. The one on Vine Cottage on Church Green is located in the upper apex of the largest dormer window and is the mark of the Royal Exchange Insurance Company. The policy was taken out in 1786 by Thomas Falkner, the owner at the time.”