Blue Plaque Stories

Celebrating London's Black History

London’s famous blue plaques link the people of the past with the buildings of the present.

From musicians to politicians, discover the pioneering black figures whose achievements are celebrated with blue plaques.

  • Ellen and William Craft

    Ellen and William Craft were African American freedom fighters who made a daring escape from enslavement in Georgia and in 1851 fled to Britain, where they supported anti-slavery efforts.

  • JS Risien Russell

    JS Risien Russell was a pioneering figure in the emerging discipline of neurology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

  • Laurie Cunningham

    Laurie Cunningham was the first black footballer to play for England in a competitive match and the first Englishman to play for Real Madrid.

  • Ottobah Cugoano

    Ottobah Cugoano was an anti-slavery campaigner and one of the first formerly enslaved people to write and publish a text in the English language

  • Mary Seacole

    The Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole set up a hotel in the war-torn Crimea to provide shelter, food and treatment for injured soldiers.

  • Sir Learie Constantine

    The cricketer and statesman Sir Learie Constantine became Britain’s first black peer in 1969.

  • Bob Marley

    Bob Marley was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He is commemorated with a blue plaque on the house where he and The Wailers finished recording their iconic album Exodus.

  • Elisabeth Welch

    Singer Elisabeth Welch was one of Britain’s best-loved interpreters of popular song. Her recording career spanned eight decades and encompassed New York, Paris and London.

  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

    The composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor achieved international fame for his trilogy of cantatas, ‘The Song of Hiawatha’.

  • Ira Aldridge

    In 1833 Ira Aldridge became the first black actor to play Othello on a West End stage.

  • John Richard Archer

    John Archer was the former Mayor of Battersea and the first black person to hold a senior public office in London.

  • Jimi Hendrix

    The guitarist and songwriter Jimi Hendrix became an overnight sensation with the release of his band’s first single, ‘Hey Joe’, in 1966.

  • Dr Harold Moody

    The campaigner for racial equality Dr Harold Moody founded the League of Coloured Peoples in 1931.

  • Cetshwayo

    Cetshwayo kaMpande was king of the Zulus during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. In 1882, he visited London and stayed at 18 Melbury Road in Holland Park.

  • Jomo Kenyatta

    Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of Kenya after the country won independence from the British Empire in 1963.

  • Kwame Nkrumah

    Kwame Nkrumah helped secure Ghana’s independence from Britain in 1957 and became the country’s first Prime Minister and President.

  • Marcus Garvey

    Marcus Garvey was a black nationalist who became an inspirational figure for later civil rights activists.

  • Solomon T Plaatje

    The South African writer Solomon T Plaatje was a significant campaigner for African rights and played a pioneering role in the emergence of African literature.

Racial diversity and the Blue Plaques Scheme

We recognise the need to increase the racial diversity of the English Heritage blue plaques scheme in order to properly reflect London’s history. With this in mind we have set up a working group whose members will focus on nominating Black and Asian figures for blue plaques. 

Public nominatons are still at the heart of the scheme and the new group hopes to work with the public to uncover the stories of those whose achievements have so far been unacknowledged. To find out how to put someone forward for a plaque, please visit our Propose a Plaque page.

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