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Blue plaques are pretty great, aren’t they? Designed to show a link between a public place and a famous person, event or building, they’re not just a reminder that famous stuff happened exactly where you are right now but also a chance to learn about new things. After all, London’s full of people and stories – there’s always more to uncover.
And now we’re getting a bunch of new blue plaques. They range from Notting Hill Carnival legends and iconic musicians to some of the most famous individuals in the suffragette movement. Here’s the lowdown on all the people getting new blue plaques across the city in 2023.
Claudia Jones (1915-1964), a journalist, anti-racism activist and ‘the founding spirit of Notting Hill Carnival’. The plaque will mark the Vauxhall address where Jones was living when she had the idea of bringing a Caribbean carnival to London.
Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999), one of the twentieth century’s most celebrated violinists. Menuhin’s plaque will be on the house in Belgravia that he lived in for the last 16 years of his life.
Emily Wilding Davison (1872-1913), one of the most famous suffragettes, known for her tireless campaigning and eventual tragic death at the Derby in 1913. She’ll get a plaque on her house in Kensington.
Princess Sophia Duleep Singh (1915-1964), a suffragette and the daughter of the deposed Maharajah Duleep Singh. Singh’s plaque will be on the house near Hampton Court Palace that was gifted to her by her godmother, Queen Victoria.
Ada Salter (1866-1942), who, when she was elected Mayor of Bermondsey in 1922, was the first female mayor of a London borough. Her plaque will be on a building in Southwark where she lived in the 1890s.
Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927), a painter and model for Pre-Raphaelite painters Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones. Stillman will be commemorated on the house in Clapham where she first kicked-off her painting career.
We should point out that these plaques aren’t definitely going ahead – they’re just in the pipeline. English Heritage has to get full approval from the current property owners before they can stick a fancy blue badge on anything.
You can find out more about English Heritage’s new blue plaques here.
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