Who deserves to be remembered with a blue plaque in Cambridge?
That’s the question we’re asking the community as we open nominations for the next addition to the Cambridge & District Blue Plaque scheme.
Since 2001, 43 plaques have been installed to honour remarkable people and events connected with our city and surrounding villages. These include well-known figures such as Thomas the Tank Engine author Rev. W. Awdry, suffragette campaigner Millicent Fawcett, mathematician and codebreaker Alan Turing, and wartime nutritionist Elsie Widdowson. The most recent plaque was unveiled in May in the village of Foxton, celebrating paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey.
Each plaque is installed on a building with a real connection to the person or event, creating a visible and lasting link between our streets and our history.
“As we look around our city and villages, we can understand our past from historic buildings and archaeology, but the people who made our history are often forgotten to time,” says Penny Heath, Chair of the Blue Plaque Committee. “Blue plaques help make those people and their achievements visible again, so that they can be known by current and future generations.”
How to nominate
We welcome suggestions from individuals, community groups, and organisations. To make a nomination, please email enquiries@cambridgeppf.org with:
The name of the person or details of the event
Why they deserve a plaque
The building where the plaque could be installed
Nominees must have died at least ten years ago, and we particularly welcome proposals where supporters can help raise funds for the plaque.
Why it matters
Blue plaques shine a light on people whose lives and work shaped Cambridge — sometimes in ways the public may not even know. It’s not unusual to discover that a remarkable person once lived in an ordinary street or village. By commemorating them, we keep their story alive and share it with future generations.
Explore and get involved
A full list of existing plaques, along with details about how the scheme works, is available on our website: Blue Plaques in Cambridge.
This scheme is run by Cambridge Past, Present & Future, your local civic charity caring for Cambridge’s countryside and heritage. Together, we can decide who should be honoured next.
