English Heritage has announced a new set of blue plaques to honour cultural icons who have shaped London’s creative landscape.
Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn and T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan are among six figures to be recognised with the prestigious markers across the capital.
The plaques will also celebrate novelist Barbara Pym, artist Graham Sutherland, ballerina Alicia Markova and Una Marson, who made history as the first black woman producer at the BBC. The commemorative plaques are set to be installed throughout 2025. Hepburn’s blue plaque will be placed in Mayfair, where she spent her early years transitioning from ballet to acting. During her time in London, she secured her first film and stage roles, including her Broadway debut in Gigi.
She went on to win an Oscar for her portrayal of Princess Ann in Roman Holiday, starring alongside Gregory Peck. The actress, who was sent to boarding school in England by her Irish-English father and Dutch-Hungarian-French noble mother, also became renowned for her influential style and fashion. Bolan, who helped spearhead the Glam Rock movement of the 1970s, will be honoured with a plaque at one of his west London addresses. English Heritage praised his “iconic look, featuring sequins, feather boas, and platform boots” which defined Glam Rock’s aesthetic and “challenged traditional notions of masculinity”.
She won an Oscar for her portrayal of Princess Ann in Roman Holiday The T. Rex frontman, known for hits like “Get It On” and “Ride a White Swan”, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Bolan died aged 29 in 1977 when his car crashed into a tree in south-west London.
Renowned ballerina Alicia Markova, a co-founder of the English National Ballet and influential figure in the Royal Ballet, will be celebrated with a plaque at her childhood home in Muswell Hill. Novelist Barbara Pym’s Pimlico residence, which inspired her novel Excellent Women, will also receive a plaque. Artist Graham Sutherland, known for painting Sir Winston Churchill, will be honoured at his London childhood home, which English Heritage said played a formative role in his artistic development. Jamaican poet and broadcaster Una Marson will be recognised for spearheading change in British broadcasting as the BBC’s first black producer.…Read more by Lauren Williams
