Sir John Tenniel: a long-lost plaque returns to London

The return of a historic plaque honouring Sir John Tenniel has brought an unexpected chapter in London’s blue plaque heritage to a close. After nearly a century, the restored marker dedicated to the celebrated illustrator has been reinstalled in West Kensington, decades after it was thought lost following the demolition of his former Maida Vale home.

The green ceramic plaque, almost one hundred years old, was destined for destruction when the north-west London house was knocked down in 1959. Damaged and covered in mortar, it was removed at the last moment and placed into storage, where it remained untouched for more than sixty years.

Experts at English Heritage have since restored the piece using conservation methods outlined in a detailed guide to historic ceramic repair. The charity said the plaque was structurally sound when rediscovered but bore evident scars from its long absence from public view.

In a statement, conservators described the process as “painstaking”, involving the removal of decades-old mortar, careful cleaning and the recreation of the original glaze using dry pigments and stone powders. It marks the first time a London plaque has been retrieved, conserved and reinstated after such a long disappearance.

Howard Spencer, senior historian at English Heritage, called the restoration a rare moment in the organisation’s long stewardship of the scheme.
“At nearly a hundred years old, this plaque has an extraordinary story,” he said. “We have never conserved and reinstalled such a historic plaque before, so it was something of a leap of faith. We are delighted with the result.”

Sir John Tenniel, who died in 1914 aged 93, is best known for his illustrations for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. His political cartoons for British newspapers also shaped the visual language of Victorian satire.

Although green in colour, the marker forms part of the wider London blue plaques scheme, one of the city’s longest-running heritage traditions. Established in the nineteenth century, the project has passed through several custodians and is now overseen by English Heritage.

The reinstallation of the Tenniel plaque restores a link to one of the most recognisable illustrators in English literature and returns an important piece of cultural history to London’s streets.

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[Image Credit | Goldmark Gallery]

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