Vive l’Empereur! London’s oldest blue plaque
One of the underappreciated glories of London is the Blue Plaque scheme, the commemoration with 19” (48cm) ceramic discs of the places associated with history’s […]
blue plaques
The Blue and Green Plaques of St James’s Place
St James’s Place, which cuts between St James’s Street and Green Park, has the modernist/brutalist Target House at one end, and the vast neo-classical pile […]
Whitehall Court – London on the Loire
Look towards the Eye from St James’s Park (or vice versa), or look upriver from the Golden Jubilee Bridge and there appears to be a […]
GCHQ, Bletchley Park and the ‘Golf, Cheese and Chess Society’
On a refurbished Edwardian office block at 13-15 York Buildings – just down from Strand on the way to Embankment Gardens – is a green […]
The House Where Churchill Died
Hyde Park Gate is a cul de sac off the Kensington Road, a stone’s throw from the Albert Hall and Albert Memorial. It’s a mix […]
Ottobah Cugoano – an 18th century freed slave and abolitionist
Much of the narrative on the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire is framed by the actions of the white British campaigners […]
Richmond’s Blue Plaques
After last month’s stroll past some of the more prominent plaques in Putney, another piece, this time on the residents of Richmond upon Thames. This […]
The Blue Plaques and famous names of Putney, SW15
A short piece I did for Essential Surrey on Putney’s history, and some of the famous people associated with the area. Now a thriving, popular […]
Hilda Hewlett – Pioneer Aviator
Men outnumber women on London’s Blue Plaques by over seven to one, so it was good to stumble across this in Vardens Road, just off St […]
Edwin Evans and Battersea Rise
The closing of a small estate agent’s office in South West London is hardly big news (some might even raise a cheer), but the closure […]