10 Most Interesting Blue Plaques in London

Fans of one of the greatest comic heroes in cinematic history, Charlie Chaplin, can visit the home he shared with his brother from 1908 – 1910. Located in Brixton, South London, the actor and filmmaker moved into the flat at the start of his career and described it as a ‘cherished haven’ after an extremely tough and impoverished childhood.

The English Heritage blue plaque can be found outside 15 Glenshaw Mansions on Brixton Road – just a short walk from Brixton tube station – and was unveiled by comedian Paul Merton in 2017. The building was left relatively undamaged in World War II so you can see it as it would have been when Chaplin lived there.

Seen as one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Francis Bacon’s former home and studio are located in a pretty mews in West London. The blue plaque was erected by English Heritage in 2017 at 7 Reece Mews, South Kensington, to mark the residence where the painter lived and worked for over 30 years until his death in 1992.

Some of Bacon’s most critically acclaimed works would have been produced while the artist lived at the property in Reece Mews – such as the Three Studies for a Crucifixion in 1962 and a Portrait of George Dyer Talking in 1966. Art history enthusiasts are sure to enjoy a peek into the world of this eccentric, and sometimes controversial, artist.

Head to Holland Park in West London to see the home of one of the most renowned crime writers of all time, Agatha Christie. The blue plaque was erected in 2001 to mark the property at 58 Sheffield Terrace, where the detective novelist lived with her second husband for 8 years.

Christie lived at multiple addresses in London, but it was at Sheffield Terrace where she wrote some of her most famous novels such as Murder on the Orient Express, The ABC Murders and Death on the Nile. The residence is just a 5-minute walk from the Notting Hill Gate tube station and a must-visit for crime fiction fans.

Located in Feltham on the outskirts of London, you can catch a glimpse of where Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was living when he first started to write music. Mercury’s family moved to the address – 22 Gladstone Avenue, Feltham – from Zanzibar in 1964 when the musician was 18 and he lived there on and off until 1970.

The English Heritage blue plaque marks the property as the family home, and where Mercury was living when he met future bandmates, Brian May and Roger Taylor. The plaque was unveiled by May and Freddie’s sister, Kashmira Cooke, in 2016.

If you’re in Central London, be sure to stop off in Soho Square to see the home of the Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole. Best known for her heroic efforts in the Crimean War, Seacole was an inspirational figure in history who overcame prejudices to travel the world and use her medical skills to help those in need.

You can visit the property she lived in during the 1850s – and where she began writing her autobiography – at 14 Soho Square, Westminster. The blue plaque was unveiled by Professor Elizabeth Anionwu in 2007 to mark the home of this inspirational nurse. Soho Square is Seacole’s only known surviving property in London.

Literature lovers are sure to enjoy a look at the London home where Charles Dickens wrote many of his early novels – including Oliver Twist – and now also houses a museum dedicated to the life and works of the acclaimed writer. It contains manuscripts and personal belongings, including the only known item of clothing worn by Dickens.

Take a short walk from Chancery Lane tube station to reach 48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury, Dicken’s home from 1837 to 1839, which he was able to afford due to the success of his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. The residence was honoured with a blue plaque in 1903 by London City Council – well before it became the Charles Dickens Museum in 1925.

As one of the most important authors of the 20th century, the former London home of Virginia Woolf is a must-see for literature lovers. Fitzrovia was a popular area for writers and artists in the 19th century and Woolf moved to 29 Fitzroy Square from 1907 and stayed for 4 years.

The English Heritage blue plaque was erected for Virginia Woolf at the address in 1974 and there is also a second plaque at the property for the previous tenant, George Bernard Shaw. Woolf has a second blue plaque at 34 Paradise Road in Richmond, where she later lived with her husband Leonard and founded the Hogarth Press.

Fans and followers of the late, great Bob Marley should head to West London to check out one of the homes of the world-renowned celebrity. The singer-songwriter moved to 42 Oakley Street in the London borough of Chelsea in 1977 after leaving Jamaica due to an assassination attempt.

It was at this Chelsea residence that Marley and his band, The Wailers, finished recording their legendary album, “Exodus,” containing hits such as Jamming and One Love, which rocketed them to musical stardom in 1977. The English Heritage blue plaque was unveiled at the property in 2019 by writer Benjamin Zephaniah and historian David Olusoga.

If you’re looking to learn more about the life and works of famous painter John Linnel, head to North London to see where he lived in the 19th century. Joining him in this Hampstead home for a time was well-known poet and great friend, William Blake.

The blue plaque was erected at John Linnel’s home, Old Wyldes', North End, Hampstead, in 1975. Linnel helped to promote William Blake’s work after Blake began to fall into obscurity. In return, Blake helped Linnell develop more emotive and engaging landscape paintings.

Film buffs won’t want to miss a trip to see the former home of Alfred Hitchcock, one of the most significant filmmakers in the history of cinema. The director grew up in East London but moved west to 153 Cromwell Road when he married Alma Reville in 1926.

The English Heritage blue plaque was unveiled at Cromwell Road in 1999 to mark where the famous film director lived with his wife for 13 years. While living at Cromwell Road, Hitchcock made critically acclaimed films such as The Thirty-Nine Steps and The Lady Vanishes before moving to Hollywood to continue his career stateside in 1939.