Blue Plaques are a great opportunity to celebrate the history of Chelmsford and draw attention to events or people of historic significance.

We would like to hear from anyone with a suggestion for a blue plaque. We will then consider it against our criteria and let you know our decision.

If a building is privately owned, the owner has to agree to the installation. This means that even if the person or event meets the criteria, it may not always be possible to install a plaque.

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We use the following criteria to assess proposals. We will consider all proposals that meet the criteria, but this does not guarantee that we can accept them.

If you are proposing a plaque to commemorate a person, that person must:

  • have been dead for at least 20 years
  • be of significant public standing in a greater than local context
  • have made an important positive contribution to human welfare or happiness
  • have resided in, or had a prolonged association with, the building
  • be (or have achieved something) well-known to the public

If you are proposing a plaque for another reason, it must either:

  • be to commemorate the site of a historical event of particular importance, or
  • be a building that has an important historical significance that is not obvious from its present appearance or use

We will not consider a proposal if:

  • a plaque (or other commemoration) already marks a person’s connection with the building
  • a person, event or building has already been marked elsewhere
  • the building has been radically altered since the event or person being marked

If we install a new plaque, it must be:

  • clearly visible from the public highway
  • placed on the building itself and not on a boundary wall or gate pier
  • contemporary with or pre-date the association being marked

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