Tribute to art world stalwart

JO CLARKE EXPLAINS WHY A BLUE PLAQUE COMMEMORATES SIR CHARLES EASTLAKE

- Jo Clarke is marketing and communications officer at The Box

A NEW historic blue plaque was unveiled in Plympton St Mary last week, at Hillside Court. The building is the site of a former house named 'Hillside,' which once belonged to Sir Charles Eastlake (1793-1865).

This document dates from February 10, 1858, and shows the property Eastlake once owned. The area on the plan is listed as St Mary's Hill (the original name for Hillside) and there’s a signature in the bottom left-hand corner from a G Eastlake.

Three roads are shown on the plan: a private road, a road leading to Geasons (a reference to today’s Geasons Lane, perhaps), and a parish road leading from Colebrook to Plympton St Mary (most likely what is now Station Road).