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Three pioneering women. Two English Heritage Blue Plaques. One central London address.
A spit from the British Museum, 2 Gower Street has been home to at least three extraordinary women. One of these — the Suffragist Millicent Fawcett, who also has a statue in Parliament Square — is already remembered in a Blue Plaque.
As of March 2025, the address has become the only building with two Blue Plaques that both celebrate women. Fawcett's plaque has been joined by one dedicated to her sister Agnes Garrett and their cousin Rhoda Garrett, both of whom lived at 2 Gower Street and, in 1875, established A & R Garrett House Decorators here — Britain's first female-run interior design firm.
In an era when interior design was a male-dominated industry, the Garretts peddled a less gaudy and cluttered style of decor, and though they faced their critics (rival designer Lewis F. Day sneered of their exhibition at the 1878 Paris World's Fair "how little is enough to satisfy the ambition of lady-decorators"), they paved the way for women to follow in their footsteps.
In 1876, A & R Garrett published the book Suggestions for House Decoration, which featured pictures of their own home. The firm also oversaw the design for Millicent Fawcett's quarters at this address (Fawcett moved into 2 Gower Street in 1884 following the death of her husband, by which time Rhoda Garrett had also passed away). The Women's Penny Paper fawned over Fawcett's decor in an 1890 article:
The drapery, which was so pleasant to the eye, served to keep off possible draughts; the seats were low and easy, the floor was warm and soft with bright-coloured rugs, and above all one felt able to move about without the risk of upsetting some valuable ornament.
Another Blue Plaque has just been unveiled, at The Mansions, Mill Lane in West Hampstead — this one dedicated to Una Marson, the BBC's first Black female programme producer. Marson created groundbreaking radio programmes including Calling the West Indies and Caribbean Voices.
All images: English Heritage
