Documenting the historical links between people and places as recorded by commemorative plaques
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Plaque Of The Day
Jez says, "A record of a foul deed! The Earl of Rochester must have had it in for Dryden. I wonder what he had done?!"
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
Homenagem a sua santidade o Papa Joao Paulo II. Recorodando a sua visita pastoral a ests ilha de S. Migual 11 de Maio de 1991
English translation:
, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal
Subjects
Here as he walked by on the 16th of October 1843 Sir William Rowan Hamilton in a flash of genius discovered the fundamental formula for quaternion multiplication i² = j² = k² = ijk = −1 & cut it on a stone of this bridge.
Broom Bridge, Broombridge Road, Dublin, Ireland
Subjects
Ye Olde Market could be described as the "Mother of all Markets". It is legacy from a time when, as one eyewitness put it, "no one could visit the market without being confronted with the dripping end of a quarter of beef" - a sort of medieval burger bar without the fries. The origins are not exactly known. According to folklore, Prince John (the bad guy in all the Robin Hood films and who died in the castle opposite) started the market as a way of selling the goods King Richard brought back with him from the crusades in the Far East. It may be this was the first time "Made in Hong Kong" appeared in this country
Castle Gate, Newark-on-Trent, United Kingdom
Subjects
The Hyde Colliery Explosion 18th January 1889 This plaque is located near to the site where a horrific gas explosion in the Hyde Lane Coal Pit killed 23 men and seriously injured 5 more victims. The inquest recorded that the explosion took place at some distance from a shaft, which was known as the "Two Foot Level" shortly after 7.00 am. The verdict reported that the incident was accidental and was started by the site of naked lights by the miners. Unveiled by Councillor Joe Kitchen, Cabinet Deputy of Lifelong Learning on February 21st 2001.
Canal Towpath, off Manchester Road, Hyde, United Kingdom
Sir John Cornforth (1917-2013) Shell Research Ltd Millstead Laboratory of Chemical Enzymology. In recognition of the pioneering work carried out here when he was co-director of the laboratory. Cornforth led a team that revealed the detailed chemistry of how enzymes work, and explained how cholesterol builds up in the body. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1975.
Shell UK’s Milstead Laboratory of Chemical Enzymology, Sittingbourne, United Kingdom
Subjects
Texas Historical Marker #03417
Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba. This building was originally built as a presidio or fort and the Mission was apart from it. After the Mission was attacked and burned by Indians, all personnel moved into the presidio. #3417
Off US 190 at Menard Country Club, Menard, TX, United States
From 1829 to 1891 the block bounded by King, Simcoe, Adelaide and John Streets, then known as Russell Square, was occupied by the buildings and grounds of Upper Canada College. This tablet was placed here on September 13th, 1929, at the time of the Centenary of the College, by old boys from all over the world. Somum Nom Animum Mutant.
Corner of King Street West and Simcoe Street, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sir Richard Westmacott 1775-1856 sculptor lived and died here
14 South Audley Street, Westminster, W1, London, United Kingdom
Subjects
The Johnson House. Built in 1768 for John Johnson. This was home to three generations of a Quaker family who worked to abolish slavery and improve living conditions for freed African Americans. In the 1850s this house was a station on the Underground Railroad. Here and in smaller buildings on the property, men and women escaping slavery found shelter on their way to freedom.
6306 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA, United States
Subjects
The Trafalgar Way #07
The Trafalgar Way. Launceston [full inscription unknown]
White Hart Hotel, Broad Street, Launceston, United Kingdom
Subjects
This stone commemorates the gift of Greys Court to the National Trust on 25 March 1969 by Felix & Elizabeth Brunner, and was placed here on the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding, 8 July 1976 by their children and grandchildren
Greys Court, Greys Green, United Kingdom
