Why are plaques added to buildings and what is their significance?
Plaques and memorials can be found on buildings in your local area. They are often put up to remember and recognise the work of significant people or events.
Many plaques have been installed years after an event. Often, plaques found in your local area will have a connection and story to that area.
If you do explore your local history, make sure you go with a trusted adult.
Important words
| Keyword | Definition |
|---|---|
| Plaque | A sign that is put on a building to remember a significant person or event. |
| Significant | Someone or something of importance or meaning. |
| Memorable | Something or someone worth remembering. |
| Memorial | Something special such as a statue or plaque to remember someone or an event. |
| Commemorate | To honour or remember someone or something of significance. |
Watch: What historical plaques can we discover?
Find out how plaques can teach us about the past with the History Clue Crew.
Holly: Hello, HCC. You might have noticed plaques on buildings like this. Today, I'm sending you on a treasure hunt of plaques to discover exciting people and events in your hometown.
Stephanie: Roger that.
Ashton: Let's go.
Darcey: I'm excited for this one.
Holly: Good luck, HCC.
Stephanie: I'm going to crack some history codes. Oh, it looks like there's a plaque on there.
It says something about a great fire of 1583, and something about a guy called Thos Clees. I wonder who Thos Clease is, who made this plaque and why? Let's find more clues and work it out.
Darcey: Sometimes when people talk about history, I feel like it happened from far away.
But I love that this plaque reminds us of what happened right here under our noses.
I'm heading to a plaque that tells a totally wild story, and you won't believe it unless you see it with your eyes. Come on.
Ashton: All right. I've got this leaflet of the blue plaque trail in Canterbury from the visitors’ centre. There's so many plaques.
Look at this one, Sarah Baker. She ran a theatre company that toured across Kent when it was difficult for women to run businesses.
Do you think I can do the whole trail in 3 hours? I'm gonna try. We're heading to the coal yard gate, the site of the first ever railway for passengers and goods. Let's go.
Who knew Canterbury was packed with amazing people?
Stephanie: I'm trying to find out more about Thos Clease and how the fire started.
Do you have any more information for me?
Mary: I do. Thos Clease, Thomas Clease we'd call him, was a carpenter, but also a rich merchant.
He built the Queen's Aid House that you've seen, but he also built Churche’s Mansion on the edge of town.
It was built before the fire, but it didn't burn in the fire because the fire stopped in the road not far from Churche's Mansion.
We've got lots of plaques around town that are worth having a look at, but there's a really good plaque at Acton which tells you all about the Battle of Nantwich.
Darcey: So this is Amonute. She was a Native American princess, and her nickname was Pocahontas, which meant ‘playful one’.
She was born in Virginia, USA, and her father was a leader of a group of tribes.
Pocahontas was known for being a peacekeeper between the tribes and English settlers in her country.
She travelled to England after marrying a man named John Rolfe, and lived in Syon House for a while, [in] a villa on these grounds.
This plaque was put here to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Pocahontas's death.
But I have one question. Why did it take them 400 years to put up a plaque?
Stephanie: I'm here on the grounds of the great Battle of Nantwich.
The town still celebrates today with a giant reenactment called the Holly Holy Day, where townspeople celebrate their powerful history. Wow, all this from one plaque.
Holly: Time's up, HCC. What did we find?
Stephanie: I found out that plaques are so important. They help us remember places, people, or events.
Darcey: I learned that a real Native American princess lived locally.
Ashton: Not all plaques are the same. Their colour and style can tell us who made them, when, and what stories they thought were worth remembering.
Holly: That's right. And some plaques can be new and added years after the historical event.
So how are you going to find plaques around your hometown? Until next time, HCC. Out.
How do plaques tell us that something changed in a local area?
Plaques are used at times to remember a significant event or change in a local area.
Plaques can be used to explain that there has been a structural change or a brand new landmark.
For example, the ‘new’ Putney Bridge in London was opened in 1886 and replaced the original wooden structure which had been the first bridge to be built over the River Thames. There is a plaque on the bridge as a reminder of when the bridge was made.
Who decides who or what will have a plaque?
There is no single person or group in the UK that decides who or what will be commemorated by a plaque. Official Blue Plaques are organised by English Heritage in London and for the rest of England it's organised by Historic England.
There are rules for who can be given a Blue Plaque. For example, a person must have made a significant contribution to society and have been dead for at least 20 years. The decision is made by an independent panel of history experts.
For other plaques, local councils and other people may commission a plaque to be made. Some local councils also run their own schemes.
Examples of plaques
Click through the slideshow to find different examples of plaques.
Image caption, Plaques can be found on houses. Information on them may include the house number or name. You don't need a group of historians to allow one of these, of course!
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How do plaques help historians?
Plaques help historians and people to gain a deeper understanding of the location of significant events or where people of significance lived.
They provide an opportunity to celebrate and remember the local history of an area.
They can at times help to remind us of a landmark that may have existed many years ago. For example, the site of Aldgate (City Gate) in London was once a gate in the defensive wall that surrounded London. It was demolished in 1760. The London Metropolitan Archives holds information on some plaques found in London.
Think like a historian
Have a look at the thinking points below and think about your answer to each question. You could even write them down on a piece of paper or discuss them with somebody else if you want to.
What can a plaque tell you about people who lived in your area?
How can a plaque tell you how your local area has changed?
Did you think about how plaques are used to remember significant people who lived or worked in an area? In the UK there are Blue Plaques that commemorate people who did things important to history. Local councils can also decide to make plaques.
Did you think about how plaques can be made to celebrate things being built, or where something used to be? A building or a bridge might have a plaque to show when it opened, and places of historical importance that have been destroyed might have a plaque to remind us what was once there.
With a trusted adult, take a walk in your local area, where can you see any plaques? Who are they of and what do they teach you about your local area? What do you notice about these plaques? You may find some in your town centre or important buildings.
Quiz
Grown-ups corner
Are you a parent, carer or teacher?
Take a look at some of the links below on KS2 History which are packed full of knowledge, videos, quizzes and activities.
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