Blue plaque for Norwich man immortalised by the Beatles
DAVID BALE
He was the UK's first black circus owner and later became immortalised in a Beatles song.
And now the name of Norwich-born Pablo Fanque will live on in the city among the latest batch of famous people and sites to be commemorated with blue plaques.
Eighteen new plaques have been installed in the Elm Hill and Timberhill parts of Norwich and 17 street plates have also gone up to explain the origins of the more unusual street names in the city.
The work is the latest stage of plans by city charity Heart (Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust) to develop the distinctiveness of the two parts of the city that are internationally famous for their history and shopping.
Heart asked locals for suggestions of people, events and buildings to be commemorated on the plaques and one of the stories that emerged was of Pablo Fanque who was immortalised in the Beatles' song 'Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite'.
Fanque, born and raised in the city, was name-checked in the Beatles' lyric, 'The Hendersons will all be there, Late of Pablo Fanque's fair' on the 1967 Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
The plaque has been placed on the wall of the John Lewis department store in All Saints Green, opposite the entrance to Timberhill near where Mr Fanque's family used to live.
Another plaque, at the bottom of Timberhill on the corner of Red Lion Street, celebrates nearby former Orford Cellar which hosted performances in the 1960s from rock legends Jimi Hendrix, Ginger Baker, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Geno Washington.
The venue also featured popular local acts including Lucas and the Emperors and The Continentals.
As well as plaques, street plates similar to those in the Norwich Lanes area have been installed, providing information about the former names of some of Norwich's streets.
Heart secured £250,000 from the East of England Development Agency for the project, following its successful work on heritage interpretation in the Norwich Lanes, which was supported by traders and Norwich City Council.
Michael Loveday, chief executive of Norwich Heart, said: "The latest signage provides an extra dimension for making information about Norwich's fascinating history more accessible to the general public.
"The scheme in the Norwich Lanes has been massively popular with traders, tourists and the local community and not only that, studies on the effectiveness of the project concluded that the initial investment will result in substantial benefits for the local economy. By replicating this work in the Elm Hill and Timberhill areas, we have every reason to believe that similar results can be obtained."
Heart was granted permission to use the Beatles lyric on the plaque by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which owns the copyright to the Beatles catalogue.
As all Beatles' fans know, John Lennon based the lyric for 'Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite' on an antique circus poster he bought.
Mr Kite is believed to be William Kite, who worked for Pablo Fanque from 1843 to 1845. Pablo Fanque was born William Darby in 1796 in Norwich and died in Stockport in 1871.
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