Insurance Records Reveal Lost Landmarks of the London Marathon — Aviva Uncovers Hidden History

Aviva has used its extensive insurance archives to uncover the historical landmarks and stories that once lined the route of the London Marathon, revealing how the city’s landscape has evolved over more than three centuries.

The British insurer, which traces its roots back to 1696, mined more than 325 years of policy records to retrace the 26.2-mile course, identifying properties, trades and personalities that were once protected by its insurance policies along the route.

Much of this historical paper trail is held in the Aviva Group Archive, regarded in the industry as the UK’s most significant insurance collection. A long-running digitisation project has so far captured around 550,000 Hand in Hand fire policy entries dating from 1697 to the mid-19th century.

Near the Greenwich Park start line, Ranger’s House – now familiar to television audiences as the fictional Bridgerton family home – was insured for £4,000 in 1740 by MP John Stanhope. Adjusted for inflation using the Bank of England’s calculator, this cover would be worth well over £1 million today.

Close by once stood Montagu House, a royal residence that was insured by the Duke of Montagu in 1749 before being demolished in 1815.

At mile four, the course skirts Westcombe Park, the former home of Georgian actress Lavinia Fenton. She took out a £4,000 policy with Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society in 1755. Fenton, best known for playing Polly Peachum in The Beggar’s Opera, later married the 3rd Duke of Bolton.

The Thames-side stretch around mile six captures 18th-century trades from bakers to rope makers, while a 1754 policy on The Ferry House pub on the Isle of Dogs survives in the files at mile 16.

At mile 23, an 18th-century document records that The London Coal Exchange was insured for £4,000.

The marathon course finishes beside Buckingham Palace, completing a route that Aviva says reveals how Londoners lived, worked and safeguarded their assets over the centuries, with some client relationships running for more than 300 years.

Aviva opened its archive to mark the occasion as tens of thousands of runners prepared to take on the 2026 London Marathon, many focused on ticking off today’s best-known landmarks along the way.