Blue plaque
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom, a blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event. These are often blue-glazed earthenware or resin discs, 19 inches (48 cm) in diameter, with a white border and white text, placed on the exterior of buildings or other permanent structures. They are generally 2 inches (5 cm) thick and incorporated into a wall with mortar so as to form a permanent part of the fabric of a building.[1] Not all such plaques are blue in colour; a number of plaque schemes exist, run by various organisations in different parts of the UK, and hence several different plaque designs can be seen.
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[edit] English Heritage scheme
Under the scheme run by English Heritage, nominations are taken from the public for people who have passed either the 20th anniversary of their death or the centenary of their birth, whichever is the earlier. The criteria for deserving a plaque were set in 1954 and include eminence; having made an "important positive contribution"; "exceptional and outstanding personalities"; and deserving of national recognition. Nominees need not necessarily be English people. If a person meets the criteria, a plaque may be placed on a building to which they have a link.
Originally a London-only scheme (see below), this scheme extended to other parts of England in 1998, with the first plaques being unveiled in Liverpool in 2000. Cities involved in the scheme include Birmingham, Portsmouth and Southampton. Note that many cities, although not involved in the English Heritage scheme, install plaques under equivalent projects and have done so for many years.
English Heritage places 20 new plaques each year. For new awards only one plaque per individual is allowed, although in the past some names have appeared more than once (the names of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Wilberforce appear on three plaques each and those of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, William Morris and Virginia Woolf appear on two plaques each — sometimes with other notable people).
[edit] London scheme
The original blue plaque scheme was set up in London in 1867, celebrating Byron's Holles Street residence. Initially the scheme was run by the Royal Society of Arts; it was transferred to the London County Council in 1901 and later the GLC. When the Greater London Council was disbanded in 1985, following the Local Government Act of 1985, English Heritage took on the role, and later expanded the project to other parts of England (see above). The scheme has been adapted and used by organisations throughout Britain and around the world. The Royal Society of Arts placed 13 plaques, the London County Council 249 and the GLC 262; there are now more than 800. Many of the buildings which had plaques have been subsequently demolished. The oldest surviving plaque is in Gerrard Street and dates from 1875. The early plaques were dark brown, the current design dates from 1937, with the white border added in 1939. A few of these plaques are made of vitreous enamel.
[edit] Other schemes
Several plaque schemes operate (some with different coloured plaques), often run by Civic Societies, district or town councils, or local history groups, and often with different criteria. In many parts of Britain, these projects exist as local equivalents of the London scheme described above.
Westminster City Council runs a Green Plaque scheme, which is sponsored by groups campaigning for memorials.
The Dead Comics' Society installs blue plaques to commemorate notable comedians' places of residence, including those of Sid James and John Le Mesurier.
In 2003, the London Borough of Southwark started a blue plaque scheme which included living people in the awards [2].
[edit] Trivia
- Plaques for George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix stand side by side on 25 and 23 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, W1.
- The fictional character Sherlock Holmes has a blue plaque on the supposed site of 221B Baker Street, London, W1, placed there on behalf of the Sherlock Holmes Museum which now occupies the site.
- William Wymark Jacobs author, had two blue plaques unveiled to him on the same day in 1998 in London and Loughton.
- Willie Rushton has his blue plaque in Mornington Crescent tube station due to the game played on the UK comedy radio show, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Blue plaque section of English Heritage's site — includes a list of London plaques organised alphabetically by person
- Blueplaque.com London blue plaque scheme — allows searching by address
- Plaquemap.com London blue plaque scheme — search using a google map. With photos.
- Ulster History Circle
- Ulster History Society — links to blue plaque schemes in other areas
- Bourne Society — Croydon
- Loughton Town Council Blue Heritage Plaque Scheme — Loughton, Essex
- Blue Plaques of Muslim London — current and proposed plaques for London Muslims
- A list of Blue Heritage Plaques in Kingston upon Hull
- The Birmingham Civic Society — Blue Plaques
- Birmingham's Blue Plaques — Photographs of some of the plaques and sites where located.
- Manchester Blue, red and black plaques
- Cambridge City Council — Blue Plaque Scheme
- Llanelli Community Heritage blue plaques
