Plaque

Mary Wollstonecraft - NW1

Inscription

In a house on this site lived Mary Wollstonecraft, author of "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman", 1759 - 1797.
Camden London Borough Council

2019: Ann Pearson wrote questioning the absence of any reference on the plaque to William Godwin and Mary Shelley. We'll redress that omission with a summary of the short, tragic, marriage that played out in the Polygon: In early 1797 Wollstonecraft discovered she was pregnant by William Godwin so, despite their opposition to marriage, they married in March and she moved into Godwin’s home here. They both maintained independent lives with Godwin renting a daytime study nearby. Here, in August, Mary Shelley was born and 11 days later her mother died.

Site: Mary Wollstonecraft - NW1 (1 memorial)

NW1, Werrington Street, Oakshott Court

The address at the time was 29 Polygon Square. The current building was designed by Hungarian-born Peter Tabori who had worked under Erno Goldfinger and Denys Lasdun.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Mary Wollstonecraft - NW1

Subjects commemorated i

Mary Wollstonecraft

Writer, philosopher and feminist before her time. Born Primrose Street, Spita...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Mary Wollstonecraft - NW1

Created by i

Camden Council

The Town Hall in Euston Road once housed these interesting murals by Cecil Os...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Charles Townley

Charles Townley

SW1, Queen Anne's Gate, 14

Greater London Council Charles Townley, 1737 - 1805, antiquary and collector, lived here.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
W. S. Maugham - Chesterfield Street

W. S. Maugham - Chesterfield Street

W1, Chesterfield Street, 6

Greater London Council William Somerset Maugham, 1874 - 1965, novelist and playwright, lived here, 1911 - 1919.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Abney House

Abney House

N16, Stoke Newington Church Street

Oops! The plaque has 'Issac' rather than the more common 'Isaac' and we can't find any support for this odd spelling. Hope no one lost th...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
School wall relief

School wall relief

E1, Brick Lane

The wall plaque has not only an ornate cartouche with the inscription but also a detailed relief of the lost building. 1873 is very early...

1 subject commemorated
Harrow & Wealdstone Station

Harrow & Wealdstone Station

HA3, The Bridge, Harrow & Wealdstone Station, north entrance

Inside the station are two other plaques which we've transcribed but they are too dull to warrant the full treatment: Dull plaque 1: This...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Poet. Born at Field Place, near Horsham in Sussex. Had a habit of eloping with and then marrying 16 or 17 year olds: first Harriet Westbrook. When she, pregnant, drowned herself in the Serpentine P...

Person, Poetry, Seriously Famous, Italy

6 memorials
Old Church Garden - site

Old Church Garden - site

W1, Marylebone High Street

The middle of 3 plaques on the back wall of the garden.

3 subjects commemorated
Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski

Musician and conductor. Born in London. Was initially an organist, at St. James' Church, Piccadilly. Married the heiress Gloria Vanderbilt (amongst others), had an affair with Greta Garbo. ...

Person, Music / songs

1 memorial
Enfield Society

Enfield Society

Founded  as the Enfield Preservation Society, and renamed The Enfield Society in 2007.

Group, Community / Clubs, History

2 memorials
Red Cross Street

Red Cross Street

Used to run from the Beech Street / Golden Lane junction, where there was a red cross, due south to St Giles Cripplegate at Fore Street.   Londonist have found a map that shows the Barbican overlai...

Place, Transport

1 memorial