Everyone knows that Britain’s cities are rich in history, but knowing where to find that history is another matter – especially places and names.
Our mapped database of the UK’s renowned Blue Plaque schemes solves all that – and it’s free to try.
In fact, this version will show you a map location for nearly 1700 plaques, and not just from the main English Heritage scheme: there’s also hundreds of other plaques awarded by organisations as diverse as the Dead Comics Society and CERN!
You can search by profession, city and awarding body i.e. “Show me all the plaques for authors in Manchester” or “Show me all the plaques awarded by the British Film Institute”.
From within his app, you can opt to upgrade to the full (paid) version of the app allows you to use iPhones’ GPS to find out where you are in relation to any particular plaque, but there’s plenty of utility in this free version too. Perhaps most useful of all, in the free version you can read the Wikipedia page (where available) for the commemorated person without having to open a new browser and leave the app itself.
Why would you want this app? Well, did you know….
• Gandhi used to live in Hammersmith?
• Jimi Hendrix had a flat in Mayfair – and it’s right next door to the former home of classical music composer George Friederich Handel?
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never lived in Baker Street, but John Lennon used to hang out there?
• Winston Churchill went to school in Brighton?
• Jane Austen once had an overnight stay in what is now the Canterbury branch of Boots the Chemist?
• There’s a house in London that’s been home to no fewer than three British Prime Ministers – and it’s not No.10 Downing Street?
• That the father of British journalism, who set up the first printing shop in Fleet Street, went by the glorious name of Wynkyn de Worde?
• That you didn’t need to know any of the above, but you’re strangely glad to find out anyway? Yes? Then Blue Plaques is the app for you!
Blue Plaques London and UK is based on original research in conjunction with data released into the public domain by the Open Plaque collective, a community‐based service which documents commemorative plaques on buildings and other public landmarks in the UK and beyond.
Blue Plaques is published by Jason Dunne at London Smartphone, and was put together by David Masters and the team at Pyrus Malus.
London Smartphone website: www.jasondunne.co.uk
Support: [email protected]