Documenting the historical links between people and places as recorded by commemorative plaques
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Plaque Of The Day
Jez says, "I particular like this plaque because if you look at the satellite view you'll see that the area is laid out in the shape of a plane."
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
Presbyterian Church built in 1817 to accommodate the increasing Presbyterian congregation in the city. Sold to the printers George McKern & Sons Ltd. in 1904.
Glentworth Street, Newtown, Limerick, Ireland
Texas Historical Marker #08547
Rockwall and Brin Church of Christ. Growing out of meetings held in members' homes, this church was organized in 1896. Services were held in Odd-Fellows Hall until 1900, when a small frame church was built on College Street. C. A. Norred became first full-time minister in 1914, the same year a brick sanctuary was erected. To accommodate the larger church membership, the present building was completed in May 1948 and enlarged in 1966. Southwestern Christian College in Terrell and the Boles Home for Children in Quinlan are actively supported by the congregation. #8547
401 W Brin, Terrell, TX, United States
The Lopping Hall was built in 1883 out of compensation for the loss of lopping rights in Epping Forest
Lopping Hall, 187-191 High Road, Loughton, United Kingdom
Subjects
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel 1769-1849 and Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1806-1859 civil engineers lived here
98 Cheyne Walk, Kensington and Chelsea, SW10, London, United Kingdom
Subjects
Texas Historical Marker #11974
James Leonard Farmer, Sr.. (June 12, 1886 - May 14, 1961) James Leonard Farmer, Sr., was the son of Carolina and Lorena Wilson Farmer. James Farmer studied at Cookman Institute in Florida before attending Boston University, where he received a bachelors degree in 1913, a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1916, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1918. He also attended graduate school at Harvard University in 1917. An elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Farmer served as pastor of churches in Marshall, Texarkana, and Galveston. He also taught philosophy and religion here at Wiley College, at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, at Samuel Huston (now Huston-Tillotson) College in Austin, at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, at Gulfside Ministerial Training School in Waveland, Mississippi, and at Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. A popular speaker, Farmer also was the author of several books, as well as biblical commentary and articles for secular magazines. Farmer married Pearl Houston; they were the parents of three children. Their son, James Leonard Farmer, Jr., became a prominent civil rights leader in the 1960s and founder of the Congress of Racial Equality. Farmer, Sr., retired in 1956, died in 1961, and was buried in Washington, D.C. (1997) #11974
?, Marshall, TX, United States
Place Saint-Sulpice. L’architecte Jean-Nicolas Servadoni, auteur de la façade, avait projeté de créer devant l’église Saint-Sulpice une grande place de 120 m de large et 208 m long, coeur d’un project architectural important. Mais toutes ses études se heurtaient à la présence, à proximité, du séminaire édifié en 1645 par Monsieur Olier. Seule une maison construite en 1754 à l’angle de la rue des Canettes témoigne, par l’harmonie de ses proportions, de la qualité de la réalisation projetée. La démolition du séminaire, en 1808, a permis d’ériger en 1847 la Fontaine des Quatre-Evêques (Boussuet, Fénelon, Massillon, Fléchier), oeuvre monumentale de Ludovic Visconti.
English translation: St. Sulpice Square. The architect Jean-Nicolas Servadoni, the author of the façade, had planned to create in front of the church of Saint-Sulpice a large square 120 m wide and 208 m long, the heart of an important architectural project. But all his studies ran counter to the presence, near, of the seminary built in 1645 by Monsieur Olier. Only a house built in 1754 at the corner of Rue des Canettes testifies, through the harmony of its proportions, to the quality of the project. The demolition of the seminary in 1808 made it possible to erect in 1847 the Fountain of the Four-Bishops (Boussuet, Fénelon, Massillon, Fléchier), a monumental work by Ludovic Visconti. [AWS Translate]
6 Place Saint-Sulpice, Paris, France
Drum's Lane on the site of Lady Drum's Hospital. In 1633 Marion Douglas, Lady Drum, mortified a sum of 3,000 merks for a commodious house for poor widows and aged virgins. Building began in 1671. By 1721 the house also accommodated daughters of Burgesses of Guild. The area was redeveloped and Drum's Lane laid out in 1798.
Upperkirkgate, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Subjects
Texas Historical Marker #11951
The Garden Club of Houston. In 1924, seven friends who lived near the newly constructed Museum of Fine Arts formed the Garden Club of Houston. They planned to study horticulture, experiment with new plants and further the beautification of the city of Houston. From this small beginning developed an institution that has had a great influence on the city's private and public landscapes. Garden Club members assumed the maintenance of the museum grounds in 1931. Noted New York landscape architect Ruth London designed a master plan for the museum's south garden including a balustrade and bench designed by William Ward Watkin, the museum architect, with sculpture by the head of the museum school. Contributions from members and club projects made possible the completion of the garden in time for the national meeting of the Garden Club of America in 1939. Because of its work on the museum grounds, the Garden Club of Houston was the first in the southwest to become a part of the Garden Club of America. In 1942 a bulb and plant mart became the Garden Club's main fundraiser. Many plants seen at these sales became familiar staples in area gardens. The Texas Medical Center Park, the hospice at the Texas Medical Center, the Museum of Natural Science, the Harris County Center for the Retarded, the Seaman's Center at the Port of Houston, Tranquility Park, Bayou Bend, Rienzi, Armand Bayou Nature Center and Buffalo Bayou Sesquicentennial Park are among the projects and civic organizations that benefit from the Garden Club of Houston's fundraising efforts. Many notable Houstonians have been among the small membership of the Garden Club of Houston, unusual in its longevity and success. (2000) #11951
?, Houston, TX, United States
Hawkins Cemetery Named for Harvey Hawkins (1804-1869), a pioneer settler who came to Texas from Tennessee and first settled in Rusk County, the Hawkins Cemetery is the final resting place for families of the Tate Springs community. In 1848, Hawkins married Mary Ann Elizabeth (Elliott) Hitt Turner (1817-1868) and they later traveled by wagon to what would become Tarrant County. A preemptive land grand was issued to Hawkins for 160 acres in Tarrant County by Sam Houston, governor of the State of Texas, in January 1860. The cemetery began as a family plot located in the center of the property where the Hawkins couple and their children are buried. According to legend, a slave named Poly Penn was the first burial. No gravestone has been found but the location was marked on an early map. The earliest marked gravesite is that of Mary Hawkins in 1868. Rebekah Hawkins, Mary's daughter, married Jason Bryant Little before moving with her family to Tarrant County and settled near the Hawkins family. After Jason returned from fighting in the Civil War, they opened an elementary school. Their home was used as a stage coach stop on the Star Mail Route from Johnson Station, Texas to Fort Worth. A large arched monument stands at the north end of the cemetery, marking the gravesites of Rebekah, Jason and their families. In 1890, property owner George W. Kee sold the cemetery grounds to the community for use as a public burial ground. The Kee family is buried on the norther section of the cemetery. Additional acreage was acquired in 1919 from the Edwards and Tunnell families. Members of the community established a Cemetery Association in 1949 to maintain the cemetery and its records. Hawkins Cemetery chronicles the pioneer families that settled the area in the mid-1800s. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2015 Marker is property of the State of Texas
5301 NB Hwy 287 Access Road, Arlington, TX, United States
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Texas Historical Marker #13696
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. This parish began in 1863 when Father Jean Marie Giraud held mass for Catholic residents of Jefferson. Immaculate Conception grew as a church and by 1867, members completed the first building. In 1869, the church opened a school and the next year moved to the current location. Immaculate Conception soon became a center for East Texas missions, though by 1910, it was also a mission. Under the guidance and leadership of the Rt. Rev. Monsignor Meyer and others, parishioners continued to meet and serve the community. Though a fire destroyed the church in 1992, the parish rebuilt and today remains a spiritual center for Jefferson residents. (2006) #13696
N Vale St, W Lafayette St, Jefferson, TX, United States
Chemical structures of simple sugars. Near this site in 1903, James Colquhoun Irvine, Thomas Purdie and their team found a way to understand the chemical structure of simple sugars like glucose and lactose. Over the next 18 years this allowed them to lay the foundations of modern carbohydrate chemistry, with implications for medicine, nutrition and biochemistry.
25 North Street, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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