Two weeks ago we visited the Islington Local History Centre, part of Islington Library, and underneath which you’ll find Islington Museum (@IslingtonMueum). Yes it’s all about Islington in this post – and Islingtonians! – because Islington Council in London runs a People’s Plaques scheme in which the public can nominate and vote for plaques to be erected in the borough. We thought this warranted a closer look… The People’s Plaques initiative was started in 2009 with the first plaques being erected in 2010. Local people and events commemorated so far include Mary Wollstonecraft, The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, and Kenneth Williams. But the council has been putting up (green) plaques for longer than that – George Orwell’s being a famous one – and also lists their own and other plaques within the borough on this A-Z of Islington plaques page. They’re also helping us update our list of plaques erected by Islington Council.
Listen to the audio below for our interview with heritage services manager Cheryl Smith and heritage assistant Ben Smith. We chatted about how the People’s Plaques scheme was born, how their plaque criteria differ from English Heritage’s, the possibility of reusing their data at a History Hackday, plaque design and manufacture, what’s coming up with the next public vote, and more besides… [Note: the web streaming sound levels are rather low, so I'd recommend listening with headphones or via a connection to external speakers]
The Local History Centre and it’s team provide a lot more than plaques: they host and curate the local history archives including a large pool of historic images, maps, census records, and electoral roles. In turn they house several special collections for Islington notables of yore, such as artist Walter Sickert and playwright Joe Orton. They also have a great blog for Sadlers Wells Archive – ballet fans take note! If that wasn’t enough they also host exhibitions and events, list local walking and cycling tours links, and much more. They’re part of Islington Heritage Services which also runs the Islington Museum located downstairs and we had a good chat with the museum’s Alex Smith afterwards. Looking at their site I found that the first mention of Islington can be traced back to an early Anglo-Saxon charter and it was originally named Giseldone, then Gislandune. According to their short history of Islington: “The name means ‘Gisla’s hill’ from an old Saxon personal name Gisla and dun meaning ‘hill’. According to one early writer, it was a savage place, a forest “full of the lairs of wild beasts”, where bears and wild bulls roamed. On the edges of the forest was a pasture for hogs. In The Domesday Book of 1086 the name had mutated to Isendone, and then Iseldone, which remained in use until the 17th century when it was replaced by the modern form.” I could go on but you can find out more by exploring from their Heritage Services webpage.
The blue plaques idea was first conceived of by Liberal MP William Ewart, who went on to co-found the scheme with the RSA in 1866. Another thing Ewart is renowned for is his pioneering advocacy of free public libraries, the formation of which he helped pass into law in 1850. It’s apt then that our first meeting with council staff to find out about plaques was in a library, when the history of both plaques and public libraries is so intimately connected. Three final notes for the diary: public nominations for the 2012 People’s Plaques vote open in December 2011 (anyone can nominate and vote – last year they had nominations from as far away as New Zealand!), and two further plaques voted in by the public in 2010 will be put up in 2012 – for Suffragettes martial arts instructor Edith Garrud and Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy author Douglas Adams. We’ll keep you posted on both here and via Twitter. – [photos: George Orwell plaque CC licensed courtesy of trailerfullofpix on Flickr, and Mary Wollstonecraft kindly donated by Islington Heritage Services]
