Blue Plaque virtual tours

It's hard not to wonder about the people behind the commemorative plaques in Brighton and Hove, some remain household names but others are now unkown. It doesn't help that the onslaught of seaside weather and pollution has rendered some plaques almost unreadable.

To capture the moment before it's too late, we have made three virtual blue plaque trails using Google Earth and Google Maps software. The trails are based on leaflets by Regency Society archivist Eileen Hollingdale (download copies of these here), research by Brighton & Hove Commemorative Plaques Panel and work by local historian Maire McQueeney.

So if you've ever asked:
"Who was that and why did they deserve a plaque?",
this may provide the answer.

Katharina Kreuzer & Arianna Giliberto
Regency Town House volunteers, September 2012

Plaque Trail 1

In this walk you can go plaque-spotting in Kemp Town where you will see the home of Thomas R. Kemp, the property speculator who commissioned the area. There are also plaques commemorating famous actors and writers, among them Dame Flora Robson. Her plaque is one of five put up by the British Film Institute.

Plaque Trail 2

This walk introduces some of the commemorative plaques in Hove including the area's first official plaquemand - a variation on the traditional blue ceramic roundel.

Plaque Trail 3

This walk explores the city centre and covers the area from the Old Steine to Cavendish Place. The route takes you along some of Brighton's oldest streets and a great number of plaques on the way.

The tours are available as a Google Earth fly-through.

Download the files below - you will need Google Earth installed to run them.

Tour 1 fly-through KMZ file

Tour 2 fly-through KMZ file

Tour 3 fly-through KMZ file

To start flying, drag and drop the downloaded file onto an open Google Earth window.