20th October 2012 by
George Orwell plaque is defaced
The plaque to the author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four was on the site of what was originally a bookshop called Booklover’s Corner, where Orwell (below) lived above in 1934-35. While there he wrote Keep the Aspidistra Flying. Booklover’s Corner was the inspiration for passages in the novel and also the source for his essay Bookshop Memories. In February 1935 he moved to 77 Parliament Hill.
The bookshop was until 1984 called the Prompt Corner. It later became a takeaway pizza house (during which time the plaque was put up) and is now Le Pain Quotidien bakery.
Full article at The Telegraph
Well, we’ve got to have it replaced. Who knows who could do it? I’ll put in the first £100, then another if it happens again, then another…come on, it’s time for action.
Disappointed to see this plaque has disappeared. I helped to unveil this many years ago. Alan Plater and Glenda Jackson were also present at the unveiling. I have the plaster caste, which could be used to create a new face, perhaps in bronze, if funds could be raised and I would be happy to contribute. Richard Blair
Phil has been emailing with ideas. Has everyone seen them? Think we should produce a press release to show that we are taking action. Mustn’t let it just drag on!
Well, if it is to be replaced, I too shall contribute. I wonder how much this costs, anyway. Does anyone have experience of this?
I have responded to the call and I am happy to fund the replacement, if it comes in at £1000 or under to have a cast iron replacement made. As suggested by Phil, it would be “rag bolted” to the wall to make it as near bomb proof as possible.
I took the lower photo (the one with Orwell defaced) in August, during my first visit to Blighty in 11 years (I live in France). While on my ‘whistle-stop’ tour, I visited various old haunts, especially Belsize Park. I walked down to South End Green, specifically to see this plaque and to see what had become of ‘The Prompt Corner’, which I knew well in the early 1970s.
I was surprised to see that the plaque had been vandalized. Subsequently, I discovered that there had been some coverage of this in the Ham & High. As an ex-contributor to The Daily Telegraph, I sent the photo and some info to Martin Chilton (whom I have never met), who then wrote the story. There is a small error in his article, where he suggests that ‘The Prompt Corner’ was still a bookshop, whereas it was a cafe where strong Greek/Turkish coffee was served to a clientele mostly consisting of rather dangerous-looking old men in leather coats and hats who played no-holds-barred chess for hours.
I have a theory about who committed this act of vandalism but the laws of libel prevent me from saying more, even if I am correct…
I shall follow further developments with interest.
Peter Dron