PRESS RELEASE:
From actresses to statesmen to comedians, in London you’re rarely more than a couple of minutes from the home of a notable person from ancient or modern British history.
Did you know that…
-Gandhi used to live in Hammersmith?
-Jimi Hendrix had a flat in Mayfair – and it’s right next door to the former home of classical music composer George Friederich Handel?
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never lived in Baker Street, but John Lennon used to hang -out there?
-There’s a house in London that’s been home to no fewer than three British Prime Ministers – and it’s not No.10 Downing Street?
-That the Fleet-Street based “father of British journalism” was a chap called Wynkyn de Worde?
Blue Plaques London and UK pinpoints the former homes of the rich, famous, distinguished …and dead.
Operating the app is easy. Fire it up, wait for your iPhone’s GPS to locate you, and the app will instantly find your 30 nearest Blue Plaques from the English Heritage plaque scheme- and others, including plaques from the Dead Comics Society! Just tap the screen for more detailed information on each person via their Wikipedia page.
The main features of Blue Plaques are:
- Works on all iPhones, and wifi-enabled iPads and iPod Touch’s
- Lists the GPS location of literally thousands of former homes and other places of interest: ideal for visitors to the city and Londoners out and about in town
- Searchable by “job description” i.e. “Find me all the authors in Manchester” or “Find me all the Dandy’s in Tunbridge Wells (true! – http://bit.ly/gmX8dP )
- No start-up screens to waste your time: Blue Plaques pinpoints your 30 nearest famous addresses in under 15 seconds
- A simple, user-friendly interface with no design fuss: this app is fast and functional.
- Its free to try; the full version costs £1.79 on iTunes.
Blue Plaques London and UK is brought to you by Jason Dunne of London Smartphone, which also publishes Toiluxe – the central London luxury loo-finder used everyday by thousands of Londoners and tourists.
Who is “Blue Plaques London and UK” aimed at?
- Nosy folk
- History buffs
- Tourists and tour guides
Jason Dunne, founder of London Smartphone, said:
“Judging by the popularity of Toiluxe, it seems Londoners really love London-focused apps, and the various plaque schemes seemed like an obvious choice: they’re fascinating. What’s more, there are many more plaques and plaque organisations than I realised – I guess Londoners don’t look up as often as we could! The plaques can really help to bring London alive.”
Blue Plaques is based on original research as well as data released into the public domain by the Open Plaque collective, a community‐based service which documents commemorative plaques on buildings and other public landmarks in the UK and beyond.
