ELIOT, George (1819-1880) a.k.a. Mary Ann Cross (née Evans)
Plaque erected in 1949 by London County Council at 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, SW3 5QZ, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
All images © English Heritage
Profession
Novelist
Category
Literature
Inscription
GEORGE ELIOT 1819-1880 NOVELIST died here
Material
Ceramic
Mary Ann Cross (née Evans) wrote acclaimed works such as The Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch under the pen name George Eliot.
Cheyne Walk
On 3 December 1880, she moved to 4 Cheyne Walk with her new husband, John Walter Cross, a banker 20 years her junior. At this Queen Anne building dating from 1718 they enjoyed the view of the meadows and river and held ‘little feasts of music’. This joy was abruptly cut short when Eliot fell seriously ill. She died here on 22 December.
Eliot was commemorated at Cheyne Walk with a London County Council blue plaque in 1949. She is also commemorated at her earlier home, Holly Lodge, 31 Wimbledon Park Road, Wimbledon, with an LCC blue plaque erected in 1905.
