91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Plaque

(relocated) Garrick plaque - gone

Garrick plaque - gone
Garrick plaque - gone

Erection date: 1876

Inscription

David Garrick, actor, lived here. B: 1716. D: 1779.
{Almost hidden in the decorative border:}
Erected by the Society of Arts

Garrick died in this house.

Erected April-May 1876.

Site: Garrick plaque - gone (1 memorial)

WC2, Adelphi Terrace, 5

Steve Roffey learnt about this lost plaque on one of the Blue Plaque walks that English Heritage arranged for the 150th Anniversary, this one conducted by Cathy Power in Hampstead on 8 May 2016. We thank Steve for passing the information on to us.

This plaque was placed at Garrick’s home in Adelphi Terrace in 1876 and removed when that was demolished in 1936. In 2016 it was by Wolley & Wallis in the Salisbury saleroom on behalf of Leslie Goodey OBE. The plaque was bought by the Garrick Club who now have it on display above the reception desk to the right of the entrance at their building in Garrick Street (opposite Floral Street). Steve tells us that it can just be seen from the street. The club have a library and an art collection and a very classy-looking on-line catalogue, with an , from which our image comes.

At we learn that the properties were numbered right to left and that Garrick's home (number 5) was in the middle of the Terrace.

We've learnt that it was common (probably still is) for photographs to be taken of a building when it is slated for demolition, so, always wanting to see a plaque in situ, we went looking for a photo. And we found an image at : "1936: ADELPHI TERRACE before it goes".  That site has a zoom function and we captured the zoomed image of the central section of the terrace. Look closely and in the middle, on the ground floor, you can see what we believe is the plaque. There's a whitish patch surrounding a dark oblong, This is a much-polished brass name-plate of the Savage Club which was in nos 6-7, 1890-1936.  On the next house to the right, a few feet higher than the name-plate, that's the Garrick plaque. And on the next house along, at the same height, can be seen the Adams' plaque at no. 4 which was lost when the terrace was demolished. Our page for the Adams plaque has a close-up.

All the houses in the Terrace were decorated inside in the distinctive ‘Adam style’, but no 5, the central house, was particularly fine. The ceiling of the front drawing-room was rescued from the demolition and is now on display in the British Galleries at the V&A Museum.

 

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Garrick plaque - gone

Subjects commemorated i

David Garrick

Actor, dramatist and theatre manager. Born Hereford. Left home and travelled ...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Adelphi Terrace

The Adam brothers built a very large development including a run of houses wi...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Garrick plaque - gone

Created by i

Royal Society of Arts

Founded by William Shipley as the "Society of Arts" in Rawthmell's Coffee Hou...

91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Nearby Memorials

Tachbrook - Cowper

Tachbrook - Cowper

SW1, Bessborough Street

Pulford Street and the Equitable Gas Works used to occupy this six acre site.  In the 1930s the Pulford Street Site Committee was respons...

1 subject commemorated
Tom Cribb English Heritage

Tom Cribb English Heritage

SW1, Panton Street, 36

The Richmond plaque can be seen in our photo, between the lamppost and the two blackboards.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Rudy Narayan

Rudy Narayan

SW2, Brixton Road, 413

Rudy Narayan, 1938 - 1998, barrister, civil rights activist, community champion and "voice for the voiceless", practised law here 1987 - ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Trenchard - WAFF

Trenchard - WAFF

SW1, Victoria Embankment, Victoria Embankment Gardens - Whitehall section

The building behind is the former Air Ministry.  We thank Jamie Davis for finding this link to the British Pathe news film of the unveili...

1 subject commemorated
Noor Inayat Khan - Taviton Street

Noor Inayat Khan - Taviton Street

WC1, Taviton Street, 4

The Covid-19 pandemic meant the unveiling ceremony took place on Facebook.

War dead | WW2
2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator