It's not often Londonist highlights a Lewisham Council plaque unveiling, but when it's of one commemorating such a great Londoner, we're glad to make an exception.
The plaque in question was unveiled early this month on Camplin Street, New Cross, and marks the site where the historian Roy Porter (1954–2002) spent his childhood.
Porter combined astonishing erudition with an all-encompassing approachability. His plaque is a fitting reminder of the normal and everyday background of a remarkable man.
Porter was arguably the most prodigious historian of his generation: authoring 20 books, co-authoring 9, editing 75 and contributing a staggering 205 chapters to edited volumes. He was a pioneering historian of medicine who wrote brilliantly accessible books on topics as diverse as the history of Bedlam, the Enlightenment and an awful lot on the long eighteenth century.
His 1995 work, London: A social history remains one of the most enjoyable, and informative, books on the history of London. Have a read at it and metaphorically doff your cap if you happen to pass by the plaque on Camplin Street. He truly was one of London's greatest historians.
Words by Ross Macfarlane, Image by Phoebe Harkins.
