26 Oct 2024
The latest Blue Plaque to be installed in St Albans remembers Frederic Kitton, the man who saved one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks from demolition.
It features on 13-15 Market Place, the building known as The Gables which is now used by Anthropologie but on several occasions was occupied by Boots the chemist, who proposed its demolition in 1899.
Kitton launched a campaign to save the building, which dates to 1637, penning an article in the Herts Advertiser in August 1899 entitled ‘The Vanishing of old St Albans – a plea for the picturesque’:
He wrote: “The building now threatened is one which must be well known to every inhabitant of St Albans, standing as it does in what is perhaps the most prominent position in the town. The block of tenements, of which this particular house forms the northern extremity, is rightly considered as the most picturesque relic of medieval St. Albans, and the old plaster gable, with its overhanging upper storey fronting the Market Place and St Peter’s-street, imparts to this portion of the town a character at once so quaint and beautiful that its destruction would prove most lamentable from an artistic and archaeological standpoint.”
Although there were follow-up letters supporting the demolition, Kitton drew up a petition which was signed by 300 people.
It stated: “This building is one of the best known and picturesque spots in the city and is visited by Artists and Archeologists as a valuable example of Ancient Domestic Architecture.”
This was presented to Boots who agreed to retain the building, making good and adapting it internally to suit their needs.
Apart from his successful work in saving The Gables, Kitton was also a prolific writer, illustrator and expert on Charles Dickens. He died in 1904 at the age of 48 years when surgery failed to heal a gastric problem. He was given a grand funeral service at St Albans Cathedral and buried in Hatfield Road Cemetery.
Blue Plaques St Albans (BPSA) is a voluntary body that installs Blue Plaques on relevant buildings to celebrate the significant men and women who lived or worked in the city of St Albans.
The 14th Blue Plaque was officially installed on Friday by the guest of honour, the Mayor of St Albans, Cllr Jamie Day. Welcomed by the Town Cryer, Steve Potter, Tim Boatswain, chair of Blue Plaques St Albans introduced the latest in the series. Vice-chair Robert Pankhurst then gave an outline of Frederic’s contribution to St Albans which was followed by the Mayor congratulating and thanking BPSA.
Additional research: Lin Keen, St Albans Museums Talking Buildings Project.
Photos of installation: Snjezana Boatswain. Portrait: courtesy of St Albans Museums.
