Celebrating Essex Day 2025 with Blue Plaques

It’s that time of year again – Essex Day, otherwise known as St Cedd’s Day, is taking place on the 26 October 2025, and we want your help with celebrating it!

Essex Day was first created to commemorate the Patron Saint of Essex, St Cedd. Today, we take the day as an opportunity to celebrate people and places, both past and present, that help make Essex a wonderful county to live and visit. If you’re curious to learn about the history behind Essex Day, check out our previous blog here.

This year, we’re inviting you to help us celebrate Essex by nominating a person or past event you believe deserves a Blue Plaque in our county. We will then be reviewing all entries and choosing our favourite to commission a Blue Plaque! Share your nomination by simply filling out our form by 19 October. We can’t wait to read them all!

Blue Plaques in Essex

There are many Blue Plaques dotted around Essex, each one telling a unique story about a significant historic event or individual. These plaques are placed on buildings that are important to that story or person, allowing the county’s rich history to live on through the generations.

Blue Plaques can commemorate many things, such as musicians – amongst the picturesque streets of Thaxted, you’ll find ‘The Steps’ at 19 Town Street. Here, a Blue Plaque sits above the entrance commemorating the English composer Gustav Holst who once lived in the building. Holst cherished the medieval town since discovering it during a north-west Essex walking holiday. From 1917 to 1925, the composer Gustav Holst owned a holiday home there and became actively involved in the local parish church, regularly playing its magnificent organ. Best known for composing The Planets suite, Holst played a pivotal role in putting Thaxted on the map. In the heart of Jupiter, one of the suite’s most iconic movements, lies the hymn tune Thaxted - a piece inspired by his weekend retreat in the town.

The Essex Women’s Commemoration Project (EWCP), launched in 2020 by the Lord-Lieutenant of Essex, Jennifer Tolhurst, celebrates the county’s remarkable women through a growing series of blue plaques. So far, 33 plaques have been installed, with more to come. The project has uncovered inspiring stories of Essex women from all walks of life - playwrights, gardeners, artists, and trade unionists. Honourees include suffrage leaders Kate and Louise Lilley, author Hannah Woolley (1622–1675), and philanthropist Catherine Marsh (1818–1912). Each plaque highlights the lasting impact these women have had on Essex’s cultural and social history – learn more here.

Plaques may also be used to remember sites that are no longer there – visit Danbury Palace at Danbury Country Park to find the plaque that honours babies that were born in the maternity hospital that previously stood in its place.

These are just a small number of examples of plaques across our county – could you help us to preserve another person or event to tell the story of Essex? Submit your nomination now!