The National Blue Plaque Scheme
Historic England's national blue plaque scheme celebrates people throughout history who have made significant and positive contributions to human welfare or happiness.
Historic England is running the new national blue plaque scheme on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
This summer, from mid-May to mid-July, you can submit your own nominations for a blue plaque. There will be advice on what we’re looking for in the nomination process, an online application form, and details on how we’ll decide who gets a plaque.
Sign up for the Historic England newsletter to find out more, including when we will launch our nomination process.
- Meet the blue plaques panel
- English Heritage London blue plaques
- For queries about the scheme, contact [email protected]
What we’ll be looking for
We’ll publish the full criteria when we open for public nominations in May. In the meantime, here are the key points to consider if you’re thinking about nominating someone for a plaque:
- At least 20 years must have passed since the candidate’s death
- They must have made a significant contribution to human welfare or happiness
- At least 1 building in England associated with the figure must survive in a form that the commemorated person would have recognised, and it must be visible from the public highway
- Although we refer to nominating a person, we’re also open to nominations for more than 1 person and events
Working with local schemes
The national scheme, supported by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, complements the work of 100s of dedicated civic societies, local history groups, universities, and architectural associations that already run their own successful local schemes. Alongside those schemes and English Heritage’s London blue plaque scheme, we aim to help more people celebrate inspirational historical figures and feel proud of their local area.
We’re partnering with Civic Voice to ensure local plaque schemes run by civic societies shape how we run the national scheme.
Profiles
Daphne Steele (1927 to 2004), described as a ‘quiet revolutionary,’ made history in 1964 by becoming the first Black matron in the National Health Service.
She is honoured with a blue plaque on Hillside Court in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, formerly known as St Winifred’s Nursing Home.
Clarice Cliff (1899 to 1972) was one of the most prominent ceramic designers of the 20th century, whose inspirational career saw her rise from a working-class pottery gilder to an internationally successful designer and factory art director.
Clarice's story is intrinsically linked with Stoke-on-Trent and the local potteries she grew up around. She is honoured with a blue plaque at 20 Snow Hill.
The next blue plaque outside London will be dedicated to the music icon, songwriter and humanitarian George Harrison.
Others will be unveiled in the coming months to mark contributions to national life.
