Burglar Alarm Britain

Where vigilante culture meets vernacular design

Category Archives: Locksmithery

Crime Cure, Bristol: old fave

Crime Cure

“Crime Cure” burglar alarm, Bristol • Update of an old favourite, as featured here. Where’s the house? It’s surrounding the massively complex heraldic device. • Spotted: The Arcade, Horsefair, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2013 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West

Securaplace, Southwark: lockdown

Securaplace

“Securaplace” burglar alarm, Southwark • Fabulous old sounder with a lock and a house. • Spotted: Borough High Street, Southwark, London, SE1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark

L or L Security, Hackney: handbasket

LorL BroadwayMkt nr E8 4PH 40425_800

“L or L Security” burglar alarm, Hackney • A city in a padlock that looks like a basket. Excellent. But I have no idea what the weird name L or L means – hell in a handbasket? • Spotted: Broadway Market, Hackney, London, E8, England, 2012 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Hackney South and Shoreditch

Keepsafe, York: big K

Keepsafe Alarm Systems

“Keepsafe Alarm Systems” burglar alarm, York • We jump from big I to big K with a fairly old-school looking Keepsafe sounder. Blimey, this big letter series is like a really crap reading lesson. • Spotted: nr Stonegate, York, Yorkshire, YO1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of York Central

Dent Security, Cambridge: big D

Dent Security

“Dent Security” burglar alarm, Cambridge • I think this jolly big D is meant to represent a padlock, if not a threat to put a dent in Johnny Burglar. • Spotted: Hills Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of South Cambridgeshire

“B” Safe, Nottingham: big B

B Safe

“B Safe” burglar alarm, Nottingham • And here’s a big B, with incorporated bonkers pun. • Spotted: Mansfield Road, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Nottingham East

“Fab”, Cardiff: fab indeed

Fab Security System

“Fab Security System” burglar alarm, Cardiff • Finally I made it to Wales, where I found this utterly fab FAB alarm. A keyhole and a Thunderbirds catchphrase – can’t get more excellent than that. • Spotted: Womanby Street, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, CF10, Wales, 2012 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Cardiff Central

“Town & Country”, Great Missenden: cop clamp

Town & Country

“Town & Country” burglar alarm, Great Missenden • This is brilliant – a T and C made out of a clamp, looking like the opening titles for a 1970s cop show. Perhaps not strictly a monogram as it’s part of a larger logo, but a top design anyway. The 1983-founded Town & Country’s website shows they still boast the T&C clamp on everything from sounders to vans, now in resplendent 3D red. • Spotted: Town centre, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, HP16, England, 2007 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Chesham and Amersham

“J&D Security”, Glasgow: literal

“J&D Security” burglar alarm, Glasgow • Loving this – a giant padlock clamped to a globe, illustrating literally the slogan “Securing Your World”, thus placing this in the extensive “Locksmithery” category too. No clue as to what J&D stands for, though. The firm obviously are (or were) based in Scotland, but I can’t find a website for them. • Spotted: Saucihall Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, G2, Scotland, 2012 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Glasgow Central

“Soundandsafe.com”, Westminster: Martello tower


“Soundandsafe.com” burglar alarm, City of Westminster • This 2002-founded firm is most unusual in having a URL for a name – and that definitely is their name, as it’s the same on their website. Dotcoms don’t seem to have much to do with olde worlde turrets, but it’s a nice logo anyway, like a marooned Martello tower floating in a sea of dark blue plastic. And I bet it lights up at night. • Spotted: Wells Street, City of Westminster, London, W1, England, 2012 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Cities of London and Westminster

“TES Security”, Bolton: named twice


“TES Security” burglar alarm, Bolton • This is quite strange, when you deconstruct it: a portcullis with a jaunty 1960s-style monogram in the middle, with a completely different logo suspended from it by chains, perhaps because the top one isn’t very legible. The one above looks a bit like a bike and suggests a balancing act, while the one below is in a font beloved of 1970s sci-fi TV shows. So, a retro-futuristic design with a superannuated phone number – but no indication of what the initials stand for, or where a portcullis might fit into the grand scheme of things. • Spotted: Marsden Road, Bolton, Lancashire, BL1, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Bolton North East

“Knightsbridge”, Merton: horsey bling


“Knightsbridge Security Systems Ltd” burglar alarm, Merton • Giant chains, jewelled keys and a white horse (at least that’s what I think it is) on top: that’s one blingy portcullis Knightsbridge have in their possession, worthy of Harry Potter or Katie Price. Though like West London Security, the placing is slightly off – wealthy Wimbledon Village may very well be full of bespoke portcullises, but it’s a long way from Knightsbridge. Dodgy geography seems to be a feature of portcullis alarms. • Spotted: High Street, Wimbledon Village, Merton, London, SW19, England, 2006 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Wimbledon

“Lasting Security”, Beckenham: chain-draped


“Lasting Security” burglar alarm, Beckenham • Yay, chains – so I reckon this is the door to a dungeon. That’ll teach Johnny Burglar. • Spotted: High Street, Beckenham, Kent, BR3, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Beckenham

“Arlescourt Security”, Camden: hand of glory

“Arlescourt Security” burglar alarm, Camden • Severed hands are a popular image on burglar alarms, and quite apart from reminding thieves what appendage they might lose under sharia law, it’s an ancient symbol with many connotations. The heraldic hand on this fine vintage sounder is grimly gripping a key in the manner of the Lady of the Lake brandishing Excalibur from her watery depths. It recalls the folkloric “Hand of Glory” – the dried and pickled mitt of a hanged felon, believed in medieval Europe to have the power to unlock any door it came across. There are grisly if contested examples in Whitby and Walsall museums, and a couple of mentions in Harry Potter. It’s all most appropriate for a firm whose name sounds like something straight out of Camelot. • Spotted: New Oxford Street, Camden, London, WC1, England, 2012 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Holborn and St Pancras

Hands of Glory: left, a medieval version, and right, Whitby Museum's example

“OxLox Alarm Systems”, Oxford: baton sounder

“OxLox Alarm Systems” burglar alarm, Oxford • Today I start a brief run of what, until someone tells me their proper name, I can only call “baton” sounders – these long, slim, rather elegant boxes, with a flat circular bulb at the top. From the ancient phone numbers it’s clear they are vintage, and they generally sport interesting graphics. This one, OxLox, is superb: it looks like a piece of art typography, or concrete poetry, and namechecks a bizarre anglo-jewish food combination – ox (as in ox cheek or ox tail) and lox (as in the cured salmon you get in bagels). In fact it’s a clever play on “Oxford Locks”, for an Oxfordshire firm that is no more. (Update: a commenter, below, says they do still exist but with a different phone number.) • Spotted: George Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1, England, 2012 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Oxford East

“Briar”, Cambridge: thorny proposition

“Briar” burglar alarm, Cambridge • Ah, Briar with its bonkers B logo – one of my favourites, here featured in its correct botanic context. Though as I’ve noted before, a rose or some thorns would be a more appropriate logo for this 1983-established Cambridge firm. • Spotted: Hills Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of South Cambridgeshire

“Stew’s” burglar alarm, Margate: matey eco-shield

“Stew’s Electrical & Security” burglar alarm, Margate • This would better belong with the shield forms at the beginning of my “uncommon shapes” theme, but it’s a last-minute discovery and the only example of this box type I’ve ever found. It’s also unique in being cheerily and possessively titled for the proprietor’s first rather than last name. The box looks a bit like a cheap, upside-down version of this ESS enclosure – which, according to the commenters, was a chrome shield variation CQR Multibox. All Ramsgate-based Stew’s matey details are on a large label, atypical for a sticker in looking professionally-designed. It features tiny icons of those popular security tropes lightning and locksmithery, plus an unusually harmonious (for burglar alarms) pale blue and green colour scheme, which wouldn’t look out of place on eco-friendly washing powder. • Spotted: Market Street, Margate, Kent, CT9, England, 2012 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Thanet North

“AM Security Group”, Brighton: swelling sides


“AM Security Group” burglar alarm, Brighton • Not a super-rare case style, but unusual and striking nevertheless with its swelling sides. You see these mounted horizontally too, and with the right design and colourway such boxes can look stylish – though this isn’t one of them. The busy logo manages to cram in references to time, a bit of a key at the end of the ‘M’, and radiating from the ‘A’ is a spiky circle that suggests a bandsaw or a gun sight, but is probably meant to be soundwaves. • Spotted: Old Steine, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1, England, 2004 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Brighton Kemptown

“Key Integrated Systems”, Bristol: soap dish


“Key Integrated Systems” burglar alarm, Bristol • We’re moving into uncommon rectangular shapes now, which basically means boxes with fancy edges or indentations – so although rare, they’re not the most exciting of enclosures. This has a ridged clear panel beneath a curved white top, and is the only example I’ve ever seen. It’s not very recognisable however, and the best I can say about it is that it’s a bit like a soap dish, or perhaps a sea slug. I can’t argue with the disco-tastic logo though, which manages to incorporate an acronym, a star, locksmithery, technology, and the fact that K.I.S. were established in 1976. How on earth does Bristol support so many independent security firms? It suggests it’s the crime hot-spot of the western world, though I’m sure it’s not. • Spotted: Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2012 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West

“Crime Cure”, Bristol: vintage inverted pocket


“Crime Cure” burglar alarm, Bristol • This is an absolutely classic sounder, and it makes me chuckle every time I see it. I found it at eye level in downown Bristol, the city that never stops giving great burglar alarm gifts. Everything about it, from my shallow design-based point of view, is good: it’s vintage metal; an unusual “inverted pocket” shape (though I have found one other); rare use of green; amusing name in bold modernist type; and a complex piece of heraldry incorporating eight popular security tropes in a tiny space, namely lions, keys, an eye, a padlock, some bars, a shield, a castle, and even a motto – “protect and deter”. An internet search on “crime cure security” throws up firms in business listings all over the place, including Bristol, but as none have their own websites I’m assuming they’re all defunct.• Spotted: High Street, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West

“Sovereign Fire & Security”, Bristol: apposite address

“Sovereign Fire & Security” burglar alarm, Bristol • A much more recent bell box from yesterday’s Sovereign Security, found in the appropriate surrounds of Queen Square. It’s similar to the “middle period” Sovereign I published many months ago here, except with an F instead of an S in the circle, and the addition of “Fire” to the name – a trend that seems to have been creeping in with other firms too. Rather tragically, I photographed this on New Years Day, which makes it my first-ever alarm from 2012. I really should have better things to do with my time. • Spotted: Queen Square, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2012 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West

“Sovereign Security”, Bristol: not remotely regal


“Sovereign Security” burglar alarm, Bristol • I’ve already posted a Sovereign Security sounder under the theme of locksmithery, as the logo looks like a chain. Here’s an older and much nicer one, even though it still doesn’t look remotely regal.• Spotted: Town centre, Bristol, Avon, BS1, England, 2006 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Bristol West

“TecServ UK”, Nottingham: Freudian epic

“TecServ UK” burglar alarm, Nottingham • Dull though it may appear to the untrained eye, to the expert burglar alarm analyst this small device is a Daily Mail-esque Freudian epic. Clad in royal blue and English mustard with a modern yet understated font, it mixes trendy with traditional in a riot of symbolism: a padlock within a passionately flaming eye, a name suggesting service, technical prowess and patriotic values, and a sub-offer of fieriness and security. Surely the very model of a Femail reader’s fantasy burglar alarm engineer – a Heathcliff of the sounder, a Mr Darcy of the bell box. Or perhaps I’m reading too much into it. • Spotted: Friar Lane, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG1, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Nottingham South

“Southern Safeguards”, Brighton: safe-smitten

“Southern Safeguards” burglar alarm, Brighton • Another spread eagle, and even more bonkers than yesterday’s: what looks like a Southern Bald Eagle smitten by a massive and badly-drawn safe, in a rather literal reading of the firm’s name, Southern Safeguards. Not the newest of items, judging by both the naive design and the moss growing along the top. • Spotted: St George’s Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Brighton Kemptown

“Kestrel Alarms”, Brighton: through the keyhole

“Kestrel Alarms” burglar alarm, Brighton • Another Kestrel that’s made a hostile takeover, this time of a firm called Keyhole Security, whose name resides in a giant keyhole shape – I need to find one of these unstickered for my “locksmithery” set. Despite sporting Lib-Dem orange, yesterday’s Kestrel was in the Conservative consituency of Brighton Kemptown, while this example lives in the only Green constituency in England, Brighton Pavilion. Both Brighton constituencies, along with my blog, will be mightily shaken up if the proposed boundary changes come into effect, morphing into Lewes & Brighton East (likely Tory) and Brighton Pavilion & Hove (likely Labour). In other words, bye bye Greens. (There’s a brilliant map from the Guardian here showing the changes.) • Spotted: North Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Green constituency of Brighton Pavilion

“Locktec Security Group”, Camden: yawning

“Locktec Security Group” burglar alarm, Camden • A while back I posted an ultra-boring Locktec alarm consisting of dull blue lettering, but if this is the same firm they seem to have reincarnated as a fierce, roaring lion. Or perhaps it’s yawning – I certainly am, because I’m still on a deadline (and it’s got nothing to do with burglar alarms). I quite like these rather rare curved hexagon boxes – sort of a new-fangled update on the classic Modern / ADT look. • Spotted: Kilburn High Road, Camden, London, NW6, England, 2007 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn

“MR”, Islington: ultimate deterrent

“MR Security” burglar alarm, Islington • Finally, the ultimate nightmare – when pigeon spikes stop working. This row of shops was encrusted with spikes, but also with bird poo. Time to call in the hawks…  • Spotted: Stroud Green Road, Islington, London, N4, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Islington North


Above: a hawk – the ultimate pigeon deterrent

Essex Security Services”, Tower Hamlets: last link

“Essex Security Services” burglar alarm, Tower Hamlets • This is my last locksmithery post for now, and I can’t pretend it’s been an rivetting theme. Some of the imagery has been quite nice, but I’ve certainly run out of things to say about chains. I found this in White Post Lane near Hackney Wick, one of the entry points to the Olympic Park. At the moment it’s an area of picturesque ruins, colonised by artists’ studios, and very photogenic; catch it while you can, because apparently it’s soon to be as blandified as the rest of the new-build area. Although I haven’t photographed many alarms actually in Essex (as I never seem to go there), I’ve got loads of from Essex Security Services, because East London is positively bristling with them. The firm’s still going strong, with a very different design, but this is an early example – I’ll be posting another, more violent, variation in a few days. Coming tomorrow: pigeon problems, principally poo. • Spotted: White Post Lane, Tower Hamlets, London E9, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Labour constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow

“Wakefield”, Worthing: Sleepfield, more like

“Wakefield” burglar alarm, Worthing • Sleepfield, more like: this was found in West Worthing, which is even more snorey than its dozy neighbour “main” Worthing, mobility scooter capital of the world. Back in 2003 digital cameras weren’t up to much and I wasn’t taking burglar alarms too seriously, hence the extreme blurriness, but you can just about make out a chain containing the initials WSS at the top. I’d like to get a better shot of this, and Google Street View, though usually a couple of years out of date, shows it as still there. So maybe I’m in luck – assuming I can be bothered to go back to Worthing. My brother (who tweets very amusingly about the underbelly of South Coast life as @LordScumland) lives there, so maybe I will. • Spotted: Tarring Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11, England, 2003 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Worthing West

“Sovereign Security”, Frome: security cliches

“Sovereign Security” burglar alarm, Frome • Another abstract piece of chain, unless I am very much mistaken, which is also possibly intended to read as an eye. How Sovereign Security converts to the acronym SSS is unclear, but a crown would have been more appropriate, given the name’s royal connotations. All in all an unconnected jumble of popular security cliches: monarchy, locksmithery, vision, and multiples of the letter S. (Acronym update: research shows that the firm started out as Sovereign Security Services, but are now known as Sovereign Fire and Security, and trade from the fascinating – to me, anyway – dockyard hinterlands beneath the M5 motorway at Avonmouth, Bristol. Of course, it’s always a fair bet that an unexplained “SS” stands for “Security Systems” – on burglar alarms, at least.) • Spotted: Town centre, Frome, Somerset, BA11, England, 2008 • Politics: In the Liberal Democrat constituency of Somerton and Frome

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