On Thursday 4 September 2025, the Lord Mayor of Canterbury, Keji Moses, accompanied by Lady Mayoress Carol Reed, led a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil a series of commemorative plaques on the outer Longport wall of St Augustine’s Abbey, part of Canterbury’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This unique project saw the installation of eight blue plaques, celebrating individuals whose lives and contributions span more than 1,400 years of history – from the arrival of Christianity in England to the roots of South African liberation movements.
But eagle-eyed readers of our newsletter may have spotted that there are in fact nine plaques in total – the ninth being a small brass memorial plaque placed beneath the blue plaque to St Hadrian, in honour of the late Marika Sherwood (1937–2025).
Marika was a Holocaust survivor, historian, and tireless campaigner for social justice, whose groundbreaking research helped recover and elevate overlooked figures in British and global history – including Hadrian himself, a North African abbot and scholar whose influence in Anglo-Saxon education has long been under-recognised.
The brass plaque was installed in recognition of Marika Sherwood’s lasting contribution to inclusive history, and we are proud that her memory now forms part of this important public commemoration.
🔎 The full list of individuals commemorated:
• St Augustine – First Archbishop of Canterbury
• St Hadrian – North African abbot and leading early educator
• Abbot Thomas Fyndon – Medieval builder of the Abbey’s surviving gate
• William Thorne – Monk and chronicler of the Abbey’s history
• John Tradescant the Elder – Gardener to Lord and Lady Wootton
• Sir Alexander Beresford Hope – Founder of the missionary college
• Nathaniel Cyril Kondile Mhala – South African student and early anti-colonial activist
• Rev Robert Ullock Potts – Sub-Warden who led excavations of the Abbey
• Marika Sherwood (brass memorial) – Historian and advocate for social justice
🙏 With thanks to our partners:
• Canterbury Commemoration Society
• Nubian Jak Community Trust
• English Heritage
📄 You can explore the stories behind each plaque in our specially produced leaflet:
👉 Download the Blue Plaques Leaflet (PDF)
📸 Below are a selection of images from the unveiling event.
