Clik here to view.
“Monks”, York: monastic habits
“Monks Security Systems” burglar alarm, York • There’s a pretty unambiguous Christian reference here, although the Monks family behind Monks Security are unlikely to be descended from real friars, as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Minster Alarms”, York: monster minster
“Minster Alarms” burglar alarm, York • Minster, a word dating from Saxon times and derived from the Latin for “monastery”, is an honorific title for an important church. Minster Alarms are scattered...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Abbey Alarm Systems”, York: mystery monastery
“Abbey Alarm Systems” burglar alarm, York • Monkish bell boxes abound around York: this firm is based in nearby Selby, home to one of the few English abbeys that Henry VIII didn’t smash up when he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Grange”, Old Amersham: monkish manor
“Grange” burglar alarm, Old Amersham • Home, home on the grange – a popular place name in England, and originally denoting the farming estate of a monastery, of which there were once squillions. Henry...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Genesis”, Camden: biblical beginnings
“Genesis Integrated Systems” burglar alarm, Camden • This is possibly named after the horrible band (it could be an above shot of one of Peter Gabriel’s early hairstyles), but I shall assume it’s a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Abel”, East Grinstead: biblical victim
“Abel Alarm” burglar alarm, East Grinstead • According to the Bible, Abel was the world’s first murder victim, being the son of Adam and Eve who was slain by his brother Cain. This firm’s memorable...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Aaron”, Bristol: biblical bigwig
“Aaron Hi-Tech” burglar alarm, Bristol • Although not much feted in western Christianity, Aaron – Moses’ elder brother and the first high priest of the Israelites – is a big player in Judaism and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Samaritan”, Camden: unholy rip-off
“Samaritan” burglar alarm, Camden • We all know Jesus’s parable of the Good Samaritan, who crossed the road to help a wounded stranger. It’s an odd reference for a burglar alarm, as are The Samaritans,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Summa”, Aylesbury: theological treatise
“Summa” burglar alarm, Aylesbury • There’s a learned Christian reference here, possibly unintentional: the Summa Theologica, aka the Summa, was a major religious tract by 13th-century philosopher...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Godbold & Co”, Lowestoft: good God
“Godbold & Co Security Systems” burglar alarm, Lowestoft • OK, so it’s a bit tenuous for the Christian theme, but it does namecheck the “big daddy” in the sky. The picturesque surname Godbold dates...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“J.C.”, Whitstable: security saviour
“JC Lock & Safe” burglar alarm, Whitstable • Wow, JC, could it be… not born in a stable, but in a humble Kent security firm? Happy Christmas! • Spotted: Oxford Street, Whitstable, Kent, CT5,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Aaron Hi-Tec”, Bristol: now looking sadly lo-tech
“Aaron Hi-Tec” burglar alarm, Bristol • To kick off the retro-futurist theme, here’s an LED font that’s obviously meant to look high tech (after all, it says so in the name), but is now definitely...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“First Choice”, Westminster: Buddhist drum
“First Choice” burglar alarm, City of Westminster • So, time for a rather large new category: uncommon shapes. By that I mean sounder covers in shapes that don’t crop up that often, either through...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Carroll Security Group”, Camden: maggoty arch
“Carroll Security Group” burglar alarm, Camden • I featured one of these arched sounders a while back for Nu-Tron, but they’re pretty unusual, although I was informed in this comment there’s a cache...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Abel”, Islington: glowing logo
“Abel” burglar alarm, Islington • A lot of pioneering British alarm companies were swallowed up by multinationals in the 1980s, but veteran firm Abel – like Banham, featured yesterday – endure. They...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Crusader Security (UK) Ltd”, Greenwich: fancy shield
“Crusader Security (UK) Ltd” burglar alarm, Greenwich • Crusaders are slightly at a tangent from knights, as not all crusaders were noble horsemen – the crusades were like a travelling township, with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Crusader Alarms”, Tower Hamlets: noble mein
“Crusader Alarms” burglar alarm, Tower Hamlets • Again, I think we can assume that this fellow’s a knight . Security firms wouldn’t settle for any old hoi polloi on their sounders, and he’s wearing a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Crusader Alarms”, Lambeth: night knight
“Crusader Alarms Security System” burglar alarm, Lambeth • This has the same cheese grater shape as yesterday (see side view, below), but I’m guessing this is the older iteration, partly because it’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Nexus Security”, Tower Hamlets: connected
“Nexus Security” burglar alarm, Tower Hamlets • I quote from the University of Wikipedia: “Nexus is a connection, usually where multiple elements meet, as for example spokes at a hub, originally from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Metropolitan Alarms”, Islington: synth-pop
“Metropolitan Alarms” burglar alarm, Islington • OK, a slight cheat – the firm’s called Metropolitan, but their logo’s a giant M, synonymous with groovy new wave synth-popsters M, whose “Pop Muzic”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Tamar”, Exeter: gridlocked
“Tamar Security” burglar alarm, Exeter • Ah, the eternally gridlocked Tamar Bridge, slender link across he Tamar between Devon and Cornwall. It’s not named after the Jewish temptress of Biblical...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Abel”, Falmouth: able
“Abel” burglar alarm, Falmouth • OK, so it says Abel not Able – but Abel’s founder, quoted here, says the name was intended to suggest the company was “able” (among many other things) – therefore...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grange, Great Missenden: big G
“Grange” burglar alarm, Great Missenden • There are no big Fs, so we jump straight to a giant G. This one is remarkably similar to the big C of Camguard. • Spotted: Town centre, Great Missenden,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Abbey Alarm, Birchington-on-Sea: Ladyshave
“Abbey Alarm” burglar alarm, Birchington-on-Sea • Well, an Abbey is a sort of house, for monks. On what looks like a Ladyshave. • Spotted: Town centre, Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, CT7, England, 2006 •...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Aaron Hi-Tech, Bristol: sad
“Aaron Hi-Tech” burglar alarm, Bristol • Sadly well past its hi-tech days – there are a couple more here. • Spotted: Town centre, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2006 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ades Burglar Alarm, Bristol: red moons
“Ades Burglar Alarm” burglar alarm, Bristol • I really like this weird old 1970s disco-style logo I found in Bristol, home of one squillion burglar alarm firms. It’s probably meant to be soundwaves...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Abel, York: label
“Abel” burglar alarm, York • Bit of a cheat, because this is just a triangular label. And it’s not even that triangular. • Spotted: Low Petergate, York, Yorkshire, YO1, England, 2011 • Politics: In...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tecno Alarm, Venice: Pininfarina
“Tecno Alarm Pininfarina” burglar alarm, Venice • A very modern alarm for a very old church. The Italians really do care about style – this bell box bears the name of Pininfarina, the famous car and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Unknown, Istanbul: distant
Unknown burglar alarm, Istanbul • Another alarm on a grand place of worship, namely the Yeni Mosque near Istanbul’s Galata bridge. For obvious reasons I couldn’t take a close-up photo, so I’ve no idea...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ariel Alarms, Westminster: unripped
“Ariel Alarms” burglar alarm, City of Westminster • If I’m honest this is exactly the same as the other Ariel I published here, except without a ripped label. However, that attracted no comments –...
View Article
