Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate made of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material. It is usually placed on a wall or a large stone. It usually has text and sometimes an image in memory of one or more persons, as used for epitaph, an event, a former use of the place, or some other thing. A plaquette is a small plaque. The word plaquette is not usually used for outdoor plaques fixed to wall.
United Kingdom
In England there is the Blue Plaques scheme. Plaques are put on to buildings to commemorate their links with important people or events. The scheme has been run by English Heritage for over 140 years and is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the world.[1]
Other commemorative plaque schemes are run by local councils and charities throughout the United Kingdom. These use their own rules for deciding when to put up a plaque. A list of schemes in England can be found on the English Heritage website.
Theft
As the price of scrap metal has increased plaques have been stolen by thieves wishing to sell the metal for cash.[2]
Awards
Plaques or, more often, plaquettes, have text awarding someone or something.
Examples
Plaque at Cabrillo National Monument, Point Loma, near San Diego, CA
The plaque in the Hong Kong Park commemorating the park's opening by the Governor of Hong Kong in 1991
Plaque showing the historical coat of arms of Wolverhampton, England before 1898
Second World War memorial plaque
Commemorative Plaque Media
Plaque in tribute to Claude Bernard at Collège de France in Paris
An example of a lightbox used as a commemorative plaque
A plaque commemorating the victims of a mass execution during the Axis occupation of Greece in Fregkaina, Greece.
Sir Henry Cole helped set up the first historical marker scheme in 1866.
Commemorative Plaque at Halley Park in Victoria, Australia
Löwenberger Land (Germany)
This Greater London Council blue plaque at Alexandra Palace commemorates the launch of BBC Television there in 1936.
These historical markers indicate the location of Francis Parkman House, a National Historic Landmark on Beacon Hill in Boston, Massachusetts.
Historical marker of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines or its predecessor bodies (NHI, NHC, PHRMC, etc.) in Manila, Philippines
References
- ↑ "History of the Blue Plaques Scheme". Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ↑ Hightower, Eve (13 December 2007). "Stanislaus supervisor wants recycling ordinance used to fight metal theft regionally". The Modesto Bee. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2010.