Image: The most recent plaque for Joseph Lister (English Heritage)
The organisation hopes to restore and reinstate blue plaques which have long been missing after war damage or demolition
London’s blue plaque scheme could be short by as many 50 plaques which have been lost to demolition, damage and refurbishment.
English Heritage, the organisation behind the scheme, is calling on the public to help uncover information which could lead to the return of lost plaques, if they survive.
The appeal comes as it announces a new plaque to surgeon Joseph Lister, whose original plaque disappeared – for the second time – during building work in 2017.
It is hoped that surviving plaques could be returned to English Heritage so they can be conserved and even re-installed at an alternative address if any can be found.
Most of the ‘lost’ plaques date from the time when the London County Council ran the scheme, and will bear that name on them, or the initials ‘LCC’.
Most are ceramic ’roundels’– like the plaques of today but may be blue, brown or terracotta in colour.
English Heritage Curatorial Director, Matt Thompson, explained: “Whether they are on a building for all to see or safely in our stores along with others already returned to us, each plaque documents the history of what is arguably the oldest commemorative scheme in the world.
“That is why we would like to find out if any of the ‘lost’ plaques survive and why I’m so delighted that one of the pioneers of modern surgery, Joseph Lister, gets another chance to be commemorated.’
The very first of the now more than 3,000 blue plaques was awarded to the poet Lord Byron in 1867, but his house in Holles Street, near Cavendish Square, was demolished in 1889 and his plaque was lost with it.
Other lost plaques include painter Sir David Wilkie, whose plaque was lost 1931, and engraver Charles Turner, whose plaque disappeared as late as the 1990s.
Members of the public with any information on missing plaques should contact [email protected].
