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John William Waterhouse

English Heritage Blue Plaque PDF Print E-mail

On 10th May 2002, a ceremony was held at 10 Hall Road, St John's Wood, London, to unveil an English Heritage Blue Plaque. The Blue Plaque is a scheme organized by English Heritage which honours famous people and important buildings in the United Kingdom.

Blue Plaque for John William Waterhouse
Blue Plaque. Photo by J. Kerr.

The Blue Plaque for John William Waterhouse was an auspicious honour because English Heritage gets hundreds of requests for Blue Plaques each year and only a few are approved. 10 Hall Road was Waterhouse's home from 1900 until his death there in 1917.

10 Hall Road
10 Hall Road. Photo by J. Kerr.

Below are the original details posted on this site in May 2002 announcing the Blue Plaque ceremony and the guest speakers. The ceremony was organised by English art historian, and biographer of Waterhouse, Rob Cartwright. It was videotaped by the late Derek Sumeray. The photograph shown of Waterhouse was taken in 1883, and is likely to have been taken on, or just before, Waterhouse's wedding.

ENGLISH HERITAGE COMMEMORATIVE BLUE PLAQUE UNVEILING FOR JOHN WILLIAM (NINO) WATERHOUSE (1849-1917)

Royal Academy painter

at 10 Hall Road (*), St. John's Wood, NW8, London, UK

on Friday 10 May 2002 at 11:30 am

* Waterhouse's home from 1900 until his death there in 1917

Photo of John William Waterhouse
Photo of John William Waterhouse

Programme:

  • Lynn Knight-Smith, great-niece (by marriage) of Waterhouse: Welcome.
  • Loyd Grosman, Chairman of Blue Plaques Panel, English Heritage (London Region): The Blue Plaques Scheme.
  • Robin Hamlyn, Curator of Collections, Tate Britain: The universal appeal of 'The Lady of Shalott'
  • Christopher Wood, Art Dealer and Author: Waterhouse's position in Victorian Art.
  • Rob Cartwright, Art Historian and Biographer of Waterhouse: Appreciation of Waterhouse from his own day.
  • John Physick CBE, DrRCA, great-nephew of Waterhouse: Unveiling of Blue Plaque

Travel Information:

No parking available in St. John's Wood area.
Use Public Transport buses or London Underground trains.
Nearest Tubes to 10 Hall Road are 'St. John's Wood' and 'Warwick Avenue'.
For a detailed street map of St. John's Wood access www.multimap.com, select the United Kingdom, and key in the UK Postcode of 'NW8'.

Other places of interest:

If you are travelling by London Underground to the Event and you choose to get off at "St. John's Wood" station then the standard walking route to Hall Road is opposite the station via Grove End Road, a road which bears to the left at the junction with Abbey Road. This route will add 2 bonuses to your day.

Bonus one is that at 44 Grove End Road you will find the Commemorative Plaque to Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), RA, who lived at this address from 1886-1912. Alma-Tadema was an early and important influence on Waterhouse.

Bonus two is that a little further on, at the junction of Grove End Road with Abbey Road, you will find the delightful sculpture commemorating the sculptor Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1901), RA, which was erected by his friends and admirers. Waterhouse and Ford were friends, and, at one stage, served alongside each other on the Council of the Royal Academy. The monument, a copy of the Muse which Ford himself designed for his Shelley monument in University College Chapel, Oxford, is accompanied by a bust of Ford by A. C. Lacchesi. The monument was unveiled by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1903. Attendees at the Unveiling included Waterhouse.

If you are definitely going to the Unveiling Ceremony then why not complete your respects to this great artist by visiting St. Mark's Church, Hamilton Terrace, St. John's Wood, NW8. This was the local church that the Waterhouses attended and was also the church at which Waterhouse's funeral took place. It is located only a few minutes walk from 10 Hall Road. Turning right (south) from 10 Hall Road proceed to traffic lights and turn right into Hamilton Terrace. The church is immediately visible. For security purposes, the Church is normally locked.

There are a couple of other commemorative plaques in the area. Both commemorated persons have a connection to Waterhouse: There is a GLC commemorative plaque to Sir George Frampton (1860-1928), the sculptor, at 32 Queen's Grove, St. John's Wood, NW8; this was his home from 1894-1908. Frampton was the sculptor of the famous "Peter Pan" statue in Kensington Gardens. He was on the Advisory Council of St. John's Wood Art School, along with Waterhouse. Frampton's wife attended Waterhouse's funeral. If you go to St. Mark's Church in Hamilton Terrace then at number '20' you will find the LCC commemorative plaque to William Strang (1859-1921), ARA (Etcher); number '20' was his home from 1900-21. Strang was an allegorical, Biblical and portrait painter, as well as etcher. Strang attended Waterhouse's funeral.

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