Blue Plaque Tour of Highgate
Blue plaques are displayed around the country on buildings and other structures to commemorate the people who lived, worked, socialised, or otherwise spent a lot of time there. Some plaques are “official” blue plaques from English Heritage, while others might be put up by local councils or various societies or individuals.
If you want to explore Highgate and its history, following the blue plaques is a great way to take a tour.
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Charles Dickens – Stayed at 92 North Road
The great novelist Charles Dickens—remembered for works such as Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and many more—spent some time at this address in 1832.
A.E. Housman – Lived at 17 North Road
The poet and scholar A.E. Housman wrote his collection of poems ‘A Shropshire Lad’ while living at this address, also on North Road. First published in 1896, the collection quickly became popular, particularly with younger readers.
Sir John Betjeman – Lived at 31 Highgate West Hill
The Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman lived here as a child between 1908 and 1917, a fact which is commemorated by an English Heritage blue plaque. He wrote his first poetry in the house and even expressed his love for the house in his autobiography.
J.B. Priestley – Lived at 3 The Grove
This English Heritage plaque is bronze, rather than blue, but it is displayed in memory of the respected novelist, essayist, and playwright who lived at this address. The same building also features a plaque from the local council for the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who lived in the house from 1823 until he died in 1834.
A.V. Hill – Lived at 16 Bishopswood Road
The physiologist A.V. Hill lived here between 1923 and 1967. A blue plaque stands here to mark this, celebrating the man who shared the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
V.K. Krishna Menon – Lived at 30 Langdon Park Road
V.K. Krishna Menon was a campaigner for Indian independence, a diplomatist, and a politician. He lived at this house on Langdon Park Road when he first moved to London in 1929 and stayed until 1931. He became independent India’s first High Commissioner in London in 1947.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar – Lived at 65 Cromwell Avenue
Named on this blue plaque at this address as “Indian patriot and philosopher”, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar lived here for three years from 1906. At the time it was known as India House and was intended to be used as a hostel for Indian students, also serving as the headquarters for several organisations and becoming a hub for political activism.
Mary Kingsley – Lived at 22 Southwood Lane
This blue plaque was placed by the Greater London council for the traveller and ethnologist Mary Kingsley, who lived at the address as a child in the 19th century. Her travels through West Africa helped to shape perceptions of Africa and British colonialism in Europe during her lifetime.
Highgate has multiple blue plaques and other memorials to explore. You can find official English Heritage plaques on their website or use London Remembers to find more general memorials.