Heritage Plaques
Islington’s Heritage Plaques showcase our culturally rich and colourful heritage by commemorating the significant people, places, and events in the borough. There are currently 102 plaques spread out on various sites across the borough. Search the full list of Heritage Plaques below and be inspired by some of the amazing people, places and events of Islington.
Red Bull Playhouse
Built around 1605, the year of the Gunpowder Plot, the Red Bull Playhouse stood in Red Bull Yard (now Hayward’s Place, off St John Street, Clerkenwell) until 1665. It was converted from the yard of an inn called ‘the Red Bull’ and was at least as large as the better-known Globe Theatre, if not larger. It became the longest-lived London Jacobean playhouse, surviving the English Civil War and Commonwealth, becoming a safe venue for entertainment into the Restoration.
Its Islington Heritage Plaque was unveiled on on Wednesday 29 August 2018.
Read more in our blog post about the playhouse
Derek Jarman (1942-1994)
An Islington People’s Plaque unveiled February 2018 to commemorate Jarman’s contribution to LGBT+ activism, film and the arts. The plaque is situated on the facade of the artists’ collective he lived in from 1967-69, at the very start of his creative career. Read more here.
Finsbury Park Empire (1910-1960)
An Islington People’s Plaque was unveiled 10 Oct 2017 at Vaudeville Court, on the site where the Finsbury Park Empire theatre once stood. Read more in our blog post about Islington's famous stage
George Leybourne (1842-1884)
A Greater London Council Plaque.
Collins’ Music Hall (1862-1958)
A Greater London Council Plaque.
Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837)
A English Heritage Plaque, unveiled in 1989.
Dame Gracie Fields (1898-1979)
A English Heritage plaque.
Spa Green (discovered 1685)
Joe Meek (1929-1967)
Fortune Theatre (c1600)
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
A Brunel University plaque, unveiled in 1976.
