Blue Plaques
Blue plaques are among the most familiar features of the London streetscape. They adorn the façades of buildings in areas as different as Primrose Hill, Soho and Wimbledon, all of which are connected by the fact that a remarkable person lived or worked there at some point in history. Plaques open a window into another time by showing us where the great and the good have penned their masterpieces, developed new technologies, lived or died. Actors, authors, politicians, painters, scientists, sportsmen, and reformers – people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds – have all been commemorated in this way.
The key aim of blue plaques is to celebrate great figures of the past and the buildings that they inhabited. Nonetheless, they have a number of benefits and uses: plaques help to generate local pride and increase the profile of an area and the important people who lived there; they can raise awareness about history and engage and educate people of all ages.
The blue plaques scheme has been run by English Heritage since 1986, and continues to grow at a rate of around twenty plaques each year. In 2004, the scheme was extended to the East of England, followed by the East Midlands in 2005; there are already plaques in Liverpool and Merseyside, Birmingham, Southampton and Portsmouth. For nearly 140 years, however, London has formed the principal focus for the plaques scheme. Today there are around 800 blue plaques in the capital.
Visit our Blue Plaques section to find out more.
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