Things to do · Free
The London Plaques Map
Those blue, green, brown and black roundels fixed to buildings across the city mark where someone notable lived, worked or made history — this map has all 3,630 of them. Search a name, filter by colour or subject, or switch to the list to browse. Reading first? Start with the ones worth walking to.
What do the plaque colours mean?
- Blue
- The official scheme — mostly English Heritage's London-wide plaques, plus some from the City of London Corporation.
- Green
- Mostly the City of Westminster's own scheme, plus several boroughs running their own.
- Brown
- Mostly the London Borough of Hackney's own scheme.
- Film cell
- British Film Institute plaques for people in film — shaped like a strip of celluloid, whatever the actual colour.
- Maroon
- Mostly the London Borough of Lewisham's own scheme.
- Marble
- Mostly the Police Memorial Trust, commemorating police officers.
- Red & black
- Mostly the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' own scheme.
- Pink
- Highgate Heritage's own scheme.
Black, bronze, stone, white, grey, brass, slate, red, multicoloured and the rest are mostly individual boroughs, heritage societies and specialist trusts (the Transport Trust, Firemen Remembered, and others) — no single scheme, but a real one behind each. Filter by colour above to see who's behind any of them, or read the full guide tohow London's plaques work.