Plaque: Savoy - feathers
SH
Here, John of Valois, King of France, when brought to England as a captive by the Black Prince after the Battle of Poitiers, was entertained as a prisoner of war, and died on April 8th 1364. Also in the Palace of the Savoy, Geoffrey Chaucer first great English poet came to dine many times with John of Gaunt, and here wrote many of his poems.
Site: Savoy Hotel and Theatre (9 memorials)
WC2, Savoy Court
Henry III gave this site to Peter of Savoy who, in 1346, built the Savoy Palace. In 1903-10 the Savoy Hotel was built by Colcutt and Macmurdo. The magnificently Art Deco Savoy Theatre is in the western section.
The short road leading to the entrance to the Savoy Hotel is unusual in London in that the traffic drives on the right. The walls along this road display seven delightful Art Deco plaques made of wood, chrome and ceramic, each topped with "SH". We have entitled these plaques after the image each bares at the bottom. There is also one other, more mundane, brass plaque to the restoration of the theatre. There are 6 plaques on the east side of the road and 2 on the west side. Reading clockwise they are: crown, rose, flowers, feathers, eagle, CRII, theatre and AR-MR.
2011 - we've replaced two pictures (previously taken during a major restoration) to show the newly gilded Peter statue.
Go to map of other memorials in this area
