Lloyds of London In 1688 Edward Lloyd opened a house near the River Thames for the new popular drink, coffee. Simon reports from the world's centre for Shipping Insurance, where the tragic Loss Book records disasters like the sinking of the Titanic, and rings the famous Lutine Bell from the French frigate captured by the British in 1793. For over a century the bell has been rung at Lloyds to warn of stop-press events - once for bad news, twice for good.