Documenting the historical links between people and places as recorded by commemorative plaques
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Plaque Of The Day
myf says, "He influenced British comedy for decades after his death"
Place Of The Day
Norwich, United Kingdom
Norwich has a long history. It has been a city since 1094. From the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the largest city in England after London and one of the most important. This is refelected in its plaques.
Most-viewed plaques
In the last 11 years, between 20 May 2009 to 6 Jan 2021, Open Plaques had 4,530,517 page views from 1,234,480 users. Some were triggered by internet memes such as Steve Ullathorne's 2012 image of a George Orwell plaque with a CCTV camera next to it. Others, such as those for Alan Turing, were probably triggered by an anniversary and campaign for recognition.
- George Orwell 1903-1950 novelist & political essayist lived here (19526 page views)
- Jacob von Hogflume 1864-1909 Inventor of time travel. lived here in 2189 (15077 page views)
- George Orwell 1903-1950 novelist and political essayist lived here (6390 page views)
- Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970 guitarist and songwriter lived here 1968-1969 (5714 page views)
- Alan Turing 1912-1954 founder of computer science and cryptographer, whose work was key to breaking the wartime Enigma codes, lived and died here. (4085 page views)
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859-1930 creator of Sherlock Holmes lived here 1891-1894 (3846 page views)
- Alan Turing 1912-1954 code breaker lived here from 1945-1947 (3679 page views)
- This building housed the offices of Charles Dickens' magazine 'All The Year Round' and his private apartments 1859-1870 (3339 page views)
- Dame Agatha Christie 1890-1976 detective novelist and playwright lived here 1934-1941 (3027 page views)
- The Peterloo Massacre. On 16th August 1819, a peaceful rally of 60,000 pro-democracy reformers, men, women and children was attacked by armed cavalry resulting in 15 deaths and over 600 injuries. (3006 page views)
recently photographed plaques
John Ball of Colchester Priest A leader of the Peasants Revolt Executed at St Albans 15th July 1381
John Ball Walk, Colchester, United Kingdom
Subjects
The Woolpack. This former inn took its name from the packs of wool, each containing about 60 fleeces, brought into Kendal on packhorses for making cloth. In the late 18th century new turnpike roads allowed the town to develop as a coaching centre and in 1781 the Woolpack was rebuilt with a new front and sash windows. The archway over the yard entrance was built high enough to allow stage coaches and broad-wheeled eight-horse wagons, which replaced packhorses, to pass beneath. The inn closed in 1977.
Stricklandgate, Kendal, United Kingdom
Доходный дом Евангелическо-лютеранской церкви Святой Марии. Построен в 1868 г.
English translation: The income house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Mary. Built in 1868. [AWS Translate]
ул. Ленина, 104, Ulyanovsk, Russia
The above sculpture 'Family Group', erected in 1959 as a symbol of Crawley new town, is by Sussex sculptor Richard Browne (1921-1990)
The Broadway, Crawley, United Kingdom
Subjects
The Hospital for French Protestants and their Descendants Residing in Great Britain arose from a bequest made in 1708 by a Huguenot refugee, Jacques de Gastigny, Master of the King's Buckhounds at the court of King William and Queen Mary, and was granted a Royal charter by King George I in 1718. For more than two hundred and fifty years "La Providence", as poor Huguenot refugees and their families called it, provided shelter and care " for those among us who are in distress", first in the City of London and from 1865 in Hackney. Its present home, which was originally Theobald Square, was opened in 1959 after restoration and re-arrangement into flats housing elderly people of Huguenot descent, who require private accommodation but with help always at hand in sickness and emergency. Under a new charter granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 the direction of "La Providence" remains in the hands of a Governor, Deputy Governor and Directors, who are honoured to maintain this "monument to the piety of their ancestors".
La Providence, High St, Rochester, United Kingdom
The Irish Writers' Co-operative, which signalled a new era in Irish literature and publishing, was born at a meeting here in Captain Americas in 1975
Captain Americas, Grafton Street, Dublin, Ireland
Texas Historical Marker #13918
Georgetown Fire House and Old City Hall. Designed by C.I. Belford and constructed in 1892 by C.W. Schell, this building originally housed the mayor's office, city council chambers, city jail, fire department, and the Georgetown Water Co. Over the years, it also has served as a meeting place for the Second Baptist Church and as chamber of commerce offices. The building, which features some Italianate detailing, is one of few remaining examples of 19th-century city hall-fire stations in Texas. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1984 #13918
?, Georgetown, TX, United States
Her Majesty the Queen unveiled this stone on Friday 6th May 2016 on the occasion of her visit to mark the 475th anniversary of the foundation of Berkhamsted School by Dean John Incent
Castle Street, Berkhamsted, United Kingdom
Subjects
II. La R. Universita devastata nei tumulti popolari del MDCXLVII cadente pel tremuoto del MDCLXXXVIII qui restava sino al MDCCI quando per la congiura di macchia discacciati gli studiosi vi Albergarono i Soldati Carlo III Borbone fatti riparare i danni ne riapriva le scuole nel MDCCXXXV
English translation:
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Napoli, Italy
Hier wohnte Hertha Lewy geb. Kaiser jg. 1903 Deportiert 9.12.1942 Ermordet in Auschwitz
English translation: Hertha Lewy
Albrechtstraße 38, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Berlin, Germany
Subjects
Texas Historical Marker #03012
Lake Theo - Folsom Bison Kill Site. Stone tool fragments were discovered in 1965 and 1972 on the shores of Lake Theo, named for former landowner Theodore Geisler. Archeological testing in 1974 revealed a campsite and bison butchering and processing area dating back to the age of Folsom man, between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago. Projectile points and scraping tools were found at a depth of four feet, along with over 500 bones from an extinct type of bison. Ponds in Holmes Canyon, now covered by Lake Theo, probably attracted prehistoric men to this area. (1978) #3012
?, Quitaque, TX, United States
Richard Scott 1914-1983 James Mackenzie Professor of Medicine in relation to General Practice in the University of Edinburgh taught and practised here. First Professor of General Practice in the world
West Richmond Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom