P&P Campaigns
Blue Plaques
We have begun a campaign to honour Powell & Pressburger in various ways.
These are long term plans, but we're in no rush :)
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2002 - An
English Heritage Blue Plaque
for Emeric Pressburger
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In December 2002 Emeric would have been 100 so he becomes eligible for
an English Heritage Blue Plaque on his old house at 54 Eaton Square,
London.
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2005 - An
English Heritage Blue Plaque
for Michael Powell
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In September 2005 Michael would have been 100 so he becomes eligible for
an English Heritage Blue Plaque on his old house at 8 Melbury Road,
London W4.
There are already two plaques on No. 8 Melbury Road.
One is for Michael, by the
Directors Guild of Great Britain,
the other is an English Heritage Blue Plaque but its to commemorate
Marcus Stone (1840-1921), Artist, who lived there 1877-1921.
But there is nothing in the rules to prevent another one being put
up there (The English Heritage Blue Plaque for Michael).
There are quite a few other blue plaques in Melbury Road, there was
quite a large community of artists living there at various times.
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31 Melbury Road
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Sir Samuel Luke Fildes (1844-1927),
Artist, lived here 1878-1927.
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18 Melbury Road
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William Holman-Hunt, OM (1827-1910),
Painter, lived and died here.
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33 Melbury Court
Off Melbury Road
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Sir David Low (1891-1963),
Cartoonist (creator of Colonel Blimp), lived here
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8 Melbury Road
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Marcus Stone (1840-1921),
Artist, lived here 1877-1921.
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2a Melbury Road
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Sir Hamo Thornycroft (1850-1925),
Sculptor, lived here.
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What are English Heritage Blue Plaques?
English Heritage Blue Plaques
are the major scheme for erecting commemorative plaques at the homes
or places of work of famous people. The scheme was initially only
for buildings in London but it has recently begun to spread to
include Liverpool as well. There are other schemes, but the English Heritage Blue Plaques are the original and the best.
The history of the plaques, criteria for selection and the list of the
Blue Plaques currently erected can be found at the
English Heritage web site and then search for information about Blue Plaques. It's usually under Research & Conservation but it does seem to move around a bit so it's hard to put a link straight to it.
Update, 27th November 2008
I've just had a letter from English Heritage saying that the Blue
Plaques Panel has approved the erection of the plaques for Michael &
Emeric. Hooray!!
It has been a long, slow process. But we're getting there.
I had initially contacted members of the family of Michael & Emeric to tell them what I intended to do and to get their blessing, which they gave gladly. Then I wrote the proposals for Powell & Pressburger to be honoured with Blue Plaques, laying out the reasons why I felt they were worthy of this honour.
My proposal and application went through an initial assessment process and then English Heritage assigned a researcher/historian to prepare a full report. I worked closely with her, providing lots of information - and making sure that nobody tried to do a joint plaque, they were separate and equal in their contribution. Thelma Schoonmaker (Michael Powell's widow and Martin Scorsese's multiple Oscar® winning editor) was also a big help.
They've got to sort out the permissions with the current owners of the
buildings and they'll let me know when that's been done. Then they'll
actually make the plaques and we'll start to organise the unveiling
ceremony/ies.
They're looking at 16 Green Lane, Hendon for Emeric. He lived there from
1942-47. And they're looking at 65A Chester Square for Michael as he was
there from 1939-48. Those are the periods when they were most productive
and did their most incredible work.
There are still those other, comparatively minor hurdles to overcome.
But it's all looking very good.
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Link to ->
Article about Blue Plaques in The Independent
That mentions that there are only about 750 of these plaques in the London area so Powell & Pressburger will be joining a select band. The article also mentions that not every submission gets accepted. The writers Wilkie Collins, Ezra Pound and Sylvia Plath were initially refused, then accepted. Other turn-downs include the American composer Richard Rogers and the novelist Vladimir Nabokov. Their stays in London were not regarded as significant enough in their lives to warrant commemoration.
Update, 2012
English Heritage tried and tried, but the owners of the proposed properties didn't like the idea of a plaque on their buildings. Strange, most people consider it to be quite an honour. But it was not to be.
So it was finally decided that we would get a joint plaque on the old Archers' office at Dorset House, Gloucester Place NW1. In a way that's even nicer because now they will be together in commemoration as they were in their work and in their friendship.
That was all finally decided at the back end of 2013, but when could it be done and who would perform the unveiling ceremony? Well as it happens, Marty & Thelma will both be in London because they've both been nominated for BAFTAs for The Wolf of Wall Street and that happens on the 16th February. So we'll unveil the plaque on the 17th. We've also got the nod from Kevin & Andrew Macdonald that they'll be joining us. So they can represent Emeric, Thelma can represent Micky and Marty can represent The Archers. It all seems to fit.
Dorset House, showing where the blue plaque will go
See the full report of an amazing event, with pictures and videos
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