Goad fire insurance plan showing the Theatre

Part of a fire insurance document, showing the Theatre in the late 19th century.

This detailed 1887 plan of Bristol is one of a series of fifteen sheets in an atlas originally produced to aid insurance companies in assessing fire risks. The building footprints, their use (commercial, residential, educational, etc.), the number of floors and the height of the building, as well as construction materials (and thus risk of burning) and special fire hazards (chemicals, kilns, ovens) were documented in order to estimate premiums. Names of individual businesses, property lines, and addresses were also often recorded.