Person    | Female  Born 25/9/1906  Died 28/8/1996

Phyllis Pearsall

Categories: Craft / Design

Map-maker. Born Phyllis Isobel Gross at Budapest, Court Lane Gardens, Dulwich. She said in her memoirs, that her inspiration for producing the London A - Z was because she was unable to find the location for a friend's party. The fact that she could have picked up a copy of her father's street atlas which had been printed some years before, seems to belie that. Her claim to have spent eighteen hours a day, pounding the streets of London, may also be down to her own self-publicity, debunked pretty thoroughly by her half-brother and others here.  

She did however produce what has become the standard guide for getting around the capital (until someone invented the smartphone and put maps on it). A musical based on her life, 'The A - Z of Mrs P', was produced in London in 2014. Died at 5 Atlantic Court, Shoreham by Sea, Sussex.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Phyllis Pearsall

Commemorated ati

Other Subjects

Kindersley Workshop

Kindersley Workshop

From the Workshop's website: "David Kindersley, lettercutter, sculptor and inventor, started his workshop near Cambridge in 1946, having been apprenticed to Eric Gill. He was joined in 1976 by Lida...

Group, Commerce, Craft / Design

1 memorial
R. Day

R. Day

Mason-sculptor of Camberwell. Active in 1825.

Person, Architecture, Craft / Design

1 memorial
London A - Z

London A - Z

London street guide. First developed by Phyllis Pearsall, it now covers the Greater London area, roughly within the M25. The picture shows the cover of the first edition.

Media, Community / Clubs, Craft / Design

1 memorial
Anna Maria Garthwaite

Anna Maria Garthwaite

Fabric designer. Born Leicestershire. Moved with her sister to Princes (now Princlet) Street in 1728. Many of her over 1000 designs for Spitalfield silks survive at the V&A Museum and she has b...

Person, Craft / Design

3 memorials
Philip Murdin

Philip Murdin

Of the English Heritage Stone Carvers Studio.

Person, Craft / Design

1 memorial