Documenting the historical links between people and places as recorded by commemorative plaques
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Plaque Of The Day
Jez says, "This plaque has a subtle sense of humour"
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
Nevada Historical Marker #128
The Great Train Robbery. The West’s first train robbery occurred near this site on the night of November 4, 1870. A gang of men concocted an elaborate scheme to rob the Central Pacific Railroad as the train passed through Verdi. John Chapman traveled to Oakland, California to learn when the train left for Verdi. He telegraphed a coded message to “Sal” Jones in Reno, who alerted five men waiting near Verdi. Two men rode to an area just south of Mogul today, and they placed rocks across the train tracks.When the train stopped in Verdi for the night, the soon-to-be-robbers boarded the train, decoupled the passenger coaches and commandeered the engine, mail and express cars. The gang forced Engineer Henry Small to drive to the blockage, there they tricked the guard to opening the locked express car door. The robbers broke open the strong boxes and divided the $41,600. The men rode off in different directions. All were eventually caught and all but about $3,000 was recovered.
South Verdi Rd, Verdi, NV, United States
Freddy Randall 1921-1999 A trumpet hero and true legend of British jazz lived in this house.
Old Church Road, Chingford, United Kingdom
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Radclyffe Hall Novelist & Poet Love Lived Here 1924-1929
37 Holland Street Kensington, London, United Kingdom
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Strangers Hall Dating from about 1320, with additions in the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It has been the home of William Barley, Sheriff in 1451, Nicholas Sotherton, Sheriff in 1530, Mayor in 1539, Sir Joseph Paine, Sheriff in 1654, Mayor in 1660. Presented to the City by Leonard G. Bolingbroke in 1922.
Strangers Hall, Charing Cross, Norwich, United Kingdom
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Pitt House. William Pitt (The Elder) 1st Earl of Chatham 1708-1778 Seaford MP Prime Minister stayed here
Saxon Lane, Seaford, United Kingdom
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Ici vivait, ici mourut le poète Guillevic, 1907 - 1997. Grand Prix de la Poésie de l'Académie française. "nous ferons de la terre une cathédrale sans murs." PAROI.
English translation: Here lived, here died the poet Guillevic, 1907 - 1997. Grand Prix de la Poésie de l'Académie française. “we will make the earth a cathedral without walls.” WALL. [AWS Translate]
47 rue Claude Bernard, Paris, France
Engineering Heritage Award Lion Locomotive Todd, Kitson & Laird of Leeds Star of track and film, Lion is the oldest locomotive to have been steamed in Britain. Built in 1838, Lion worked for 20 years on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, before being sold to Mersey Docks and Harbour Board as a stationary pumping engine. Rescued in 1927, this 0-4-2 represents the typical British locomotive of her era
The Great Port, Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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David Williams watched the rain from here, 7th September 1979
Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
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Hier woonde van 1781-1782 John Adams 1st US Ambassador to The Netherlands, 2nd President of the United States of America
????, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Texas Historical Marker #04325
Rockport. The town of Rockport was founded by cattlemen J. M. and T. H. Mathis in 1867. Originally a part of Refugio County, it became county seat of newly formed Aransas County in 1871. Shipping and fishing provided the primary economic base of the town in its early years. The railroad arrived in 1888 and with it came a decline in the shipping industry, although shipyards were in operation during World War I and World War II. Rockport has been a popular recreation center over the years, and tourism continues to be important to the local economy. (1988) #4325
?, Rockport, TX, United States