Annex 1 Guidance on Recognition and Promotion Of
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Annex 1 Guidance on recognition and promotion of famous people and places in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Residents of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames live in an area which has a unique identity and history. This is represented and commemorated through the built environment and also through plaques, public art, notice boards, statuary and signage. This document gives examples of good practice and some broad guidelines for any further proposals to recognise or promote famous people and places in the Borough. Throughout the document ‘Kingston’ is used to refer to the whole geographic area of the royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Proposals and Funding The guidance is designed to assist residents and local organisations who propose to erect new plaques, information boards, statues or other commemorative recognition of famous people or places in the Borough. The Council holds no specific funding for such initiatives though in some instances limited support may be possible through the Neighbourhood Grants scheme. Therefore any proposals will need to be funded by residents or stakeholder organisations through their own fund-raising. A place in history Kingston has historical significance as a place where national issues were resolved or national decisions made, such as the crowning of the Saxon Kings and the Great Council of Egbert in 838 where the civic role of bishops as Lords was agreed (ensuring their vote in the House of Lords) being two examples. This gives residents a pride in place. There is also a sense of continuity and of the passage of time between the past and the present as represented through the coronation stone, All Saints church and the Market Place. Kingston’s royal, social and industrial history are written in its buildings and supported by the Borough’s collections including the Royal Charters and the internationally important Muybridge collection. Less well represented physically, although recent efforts have begun to tell the story, is the more recent aviation design and engineering heritage. The sites and people involved in designing and building the planes which contributed to Britain’s destiny in World Wars 1, 2 and the first Iraq war – the Sopwith Camel, Hurricane and Harrier are now being brought back into focus through the work of the Aviation Project. Telling the story of Kingston’s Heritage In November 1999 the Education and Leisure Committee received a report on schemes for recognising famous residents and approved the establishment of a local plaque scheme for this purpose. The scheme is limited to plaques relating to local residents and does not cover statues or other public realm artefacts, information boards, publications and other ways of physically recording and promoting Kingston’s historic past. Initiatives and proposals for plaques and other artefacts indicate the range of interest. Proposals have come from a variety of sources – residents, members, voluntary organisations, faith groups and business initiatives. There is little guidance on design or priorities therefore when proposals, suggestions or requests are made members and officers currently lack a clear framework for decision making or to provide advice. This policy guidance is designed to cover key areas under three themes, to be used in conjunction with planning polices and guidance: 1. Public realm: Recognising famous residents 2. Public realm: Recognising famous places and sites 3. Paintings and Publications 1. PUBLIC REALM: RECOGNISING FAMOUS RESIDENTS In the UK the most common way of recognising famous residents is through statuary or plaques. STATUARY Kingston has few statues – the most prominent being the Queen Anne statue and Shrubsole monument in the Market Place/ Market House. Statues are relatively expensive and generally require private sector funding. In the past public subscription was a common way to fund statues but this method is infrequently used in modern times. They also have a permanence and prominence which need to be considered in selecting their subject. Similar standards to those applied to plaques are appropriate if the statue is on council property. Plaques are substantially cheaper, informative and useful in locating and recognising famous people in the context of their locality. There are a variety of plaques in the borough which fall into three categories – Blue Plaques (English Heritage Scheme), Green Plaques (Kingston’s local scheme) and ad hoc plaques. BLUE PLAQUES (English Heritage) The blue plaque scheme is administered by English Heritage. Originally this operated only in the London area but it is being extended to other cities. Kingston has four blue plaques. The Enid Blyton plaque (as shown) at 207 Hook Road marks a house where she was a live-in nanny and was erected prior to the 1999 report. Three further English Heritage Blue Plaques have been erected since the 1999 report: • Donald Campbell(1921-1967) and Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948) in 2010 at Canbury School, Kingston Hill; • Alfred Bestall 1892-1986 Illustrator of Rupert Bear at 58 Cranes Park in 2006 and • Dame Nellie Melba 1861-1931, Operatic soprano,at Coombe House Devey Lane, in 2000. The criteria operated by English Heritage are: • The individual must be regarded as eminent by a majority of members of their own profession or calling. • The person must have made some important positive contribution to human welfare or happiness, or have had such an exceptional and outstanding personality that a passer-by would immediately recognise their name. • The individual must have been born over one hundred years ago, or have died over twenty years ago. • Each person can have only one plaque, and it may only be affixed to an extant building directly associated with them. The rationale English Heritage have for these criteria are that they have been established to ensure that plaques for little known or undeserving people do not proliferate. For example, criteria 3 ii. ensures that a period of time elapses after the death of someone famous or since the completion of the work for which they are being honoured, and thereby ensures that popular sentiment does not dictate the inclusion of a person in the scheme shortly after their death. The cost to English Heritage of purchasing and erecting a blue plaque is approximately £1,500. The plaque itself costs approximately £750 (variable depending on wording) and the plaques are usually porcelain. Fitting costs will vary depending on the situation of the plaque and materials. English Heritage bear the costs of plaques which are agreed under their scheme. Annex A (list of famous residents) includes a number who could be considered eligible and suitable for the blue plaque scheme. It is clearly preferable to pursue the bl;ue plaque scheme (which ha sno costs and brings national recognition) where the proposal meets the English Heritage eligibility criteria) THE KINGSTON (GREEN PLAQUE) SCHEME Plaques have been erected to famous ex-residents outside the nationally recognised Blue Plaque schemes through a local Kingston Scheme using a dark green colour. The Kingston approach is based on the English Heritage criteria in paragraph 3 above, with the proviso that local impact should be taken into account. For example, the scheme can be used to erect a plaque to someone who was born in the borough or lived in the borough during a creative period, despite them having an English Heritage plaque elsewhere. Plaques erected under the new local green plaque scheme to date are: • Eadweard Muybridge (erected by Cinema 100, launched by Lord David Puttnam CBE) in Liverpool Road. • Cesar Picton, pioneer black businessman, at Amari House in Kingston High Street (erected by a local committee led by Kingston Racial Equality Council and funded by Kingston Town Neighbourhood Committee through the Neighbourhood Grants scheme). The cost of the Cesar Picton plaque was £1,400 including fitting. • George Meredith (author) at site of former Kingston Lodge. Applications for funding to support the installation of plaques are handled through the Neighbourhood Grants scheme which allows grants up to £750. This is eligible expenditure under the grants scheme. Application is through the regular grants process, by a properly constituted voluntary organisation, which has to raise the remainder of the funding for the plaque. Officers from Cultural Services and Lifelong Learning provide advice on applications where appropriate, through the Grants Unit. Annex A (list of famous residents) includes a number who could be considered eligible and suitable for the Kingston green plaque scheme. AD HOC PLAQUES Prior to the establishment of the local Green Plaques scheme, plaques were non- standard – for example the one to Richard Jeffries at the entrance to Surbiton Library While these may have their own intrinsic or aesthetic merit (and in the case of Jeffries clearly the use of wood has a relevance to the subject) it is proposed that in general the green plaques would be the preferred option for the council to support. Exceptions might exist – eg where a design needs to fit with the building to which it is to be affixed or where the plaque or board is designed to suit the person commemorated. 2. PUBLIC REALM: RECOGNISING FAMOUS PLACES AND SITES INFORMATION BOARDS AND PLAQUES Information boards and plaques have been installed periodically to promote and celebrate key buildings or sites around the borough. These are designed to be educational and informative. They provide useful reference points to tours and in visitor guides. These have been produced in response to local demand, or when renovation work is carried out. In recent years the increasing recognition of the importance of Kingston’s aviation history has led to new plaques being installed at the Richmond Road site of the former British aerospace factory. Information plaques will vary in importance and in the amount of information to be conveyed, and designs may vary according to the nature of the information to be conveyed and the site where it is to be placed.