Sunday 6th January 2008
What is a Blue Plaque?
Blue Plaques were started in the 1860s when William Ewart MP persuaded the Royal Society of Arts to erect plaques in
London to draw attention to buildings of interest because of their association with famous people.
Initially, the focus was on buildings, but eventually Blue Plaque schemes were established to honour people who have
made a significant contribution to their community, profession or calling.
Nowadays, there are Blue Plaque schemes in many town and cities throughout Britain, and even abroad.
Some plaques are other colours, but the vast majority are blue because that has become universally regarded as marking a historical association, easily recognised from a distance.
A new scheme was recently announced which will allow mobile phone users in various parts of England
the facility to receive text and audio details about a blue plaque.
A similar Blue Plaque Scheme has been called for in Wales. See this icWales (Western Mail) article for more details.
More details on the history of plaques can be found by following
this link
to a page on the English Heritage web site.
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