Zoopla Purple Plaques – has someone famous lived in your home?
November 11, 2011 at 9:05 AM Lawrence Hall 7 comments
Today we’ve launched a very exciting initiative called Purple Plaques – a scheme where we identify and recognise properties across the country where a celebrity/famous person has lived in the past.
First to be honoured under the scheme are the former homes of David Cameron (West London), Gary Barlow (Northwich), Liz Hurley (Basingstoke), Lewis Hamilton (Stevenage) and Chris Evans (Warrington) – you can see them here.
Zoopla Purple Plaques will be an ongoing scheme and one where we want you, the general public, to help us identify these homes where you know a former celebrity once lived – you can tell us here.
Inspiration for the scheme was taken from the Blue Plaques presented by English Heritage to properties associated with notable figures of the past – providing they have been dead for at least 20 years. The Zoopla Purple Plaque scheme will honour living celebrities and pay homage to the council flats, terraces, suburban semis and picturesque pads where they have lived across the UK…and unlike Blue Plaques, celebs don’t have to be dead for 20 years to qualify.
Today’s household names come from all walks of life and many are proud of their humble property beginnings compared to their penthouse suites and gated mansions of today. Cheryl Cole‘s childhood home in Heaton, Newcastle, where the average property value is £145,671 according to Zoopla.co.uk is a far cry from Hurtmore House in Oxshott where she lived with Ashley Cole and valued at £3.5m.
Our hunger for anything celebrity-related has as much impact on the property market as it does fashion, food or anything else. A property is more than just bricks and mortar and a unique history can improve a home’s marketability. Where Blue Plaques honour names of the past such as Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Edward Elgar and Lord Byron today’s buyers are just if not more interested in where Sir Elton John, Katie Price and Stephen Fry once lived.
We will be awarding many more plaques in coming months and years and would encourage homeowners treading the same boards that a star of stage once did or kicking a ball in what was the garden of a Premier League superstar are invited go to www.zoopla.co.uk/purpleplaques to apply for a Purple Plaque.
Here are the former homes of…
Chris Evans…
Former Warrington home of Chris Evans honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
David Cameron…
Former London home of David Cameron honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
Gary Barlow…
Former Cheshire home of Gary Barlow honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
Lewis Hamilton…
Former Stevenage home of Lewis Hamilton honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaque
Liz Hurley…
Former Basingstoke home of Liz Hurley honoured by property website Zoopla.co.uk with a Purple Plaques
Entry filed under: Zoopla Purple Plaques. Tags: celebrity property, property for sale, property to rent, Zoopla!.
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1.
My Online Estate Agent | November 15, 2011 at 12:58 PM
With Britain’s celebrity fascinated culture this should prove to be quite entertaining! Well done Zoopla!
2.
ziz | November 16, 2011 at 11:48 AM
Hmmm – seems a little open to abuse. Someone will have to vet this quite carefully in order to ensure plaques are correctly applied.
Great idea though.
3.
PC Repair Ipswich | November 30, 2011 at 2:47 PM
Liz Hurleys house looks beautiful. A real gem of a property.
4.
darlington property maintenance | December 2, 2011 at 8:10 PM
some nice houses there
5.
stuart | December 2, 2011 at 8:15 PM
Lots of interesting things!!
6.
Mike | December 9, 2011 at 2:52 PM
Nice idea. Try these currently on the market – five famous British writers whose works have been made into films:
http://www.planetpropertyblog.co.uk/2011/12/09/five-for-friday-%E2%80%A6-homes-of-famous-writers-for-sale/
7.
Paul Kingston | February 12, 2012 at 3:53 PM
Surely Gary Barlow’s former home is a recent former home? If he grew up in a mansion like that then he must have always been very well off.