Paul Merton unveils the tribute today

Paul Merton is to unveil a blue plaque to Charlie Chaplin today,

The Have I Got News For You star will perform the ceremony at Glenshaw Mansions on Brixton Road, South London,where Chaplin shared the top-floor flat with his older brother Sydney between 1908 and 1910

Silent film fan Merton said: ‘I’m proud to be associated with the foremost comic artist of the first half of the 20th century, and this unveiling today will remind us of the humble origins from which he sprung.’

Chaplin is only the 13th comedian to be honoured with a blue plaque by English Heritage, although other organisations offer similar tributes.

Former BBC director-general Football Association chairman Greg Dyke, a member of the panel which decides on the plaques, said: ‘London was where Charlie Chaplin grew up and first made people laugh. We are delighted to honour one of cinema’s greatest stars and the modest building he once called home.’

Of all the places Chaplin lived in London, he later singled out Glenshaw Mansions, referring to the building by name in his novella, Footlights. He also recalled it with affection as the first proper home of his own – a ‘cherished haven’ – in his 1964 autobiography.

When Charlie and Sydney Chaplin moved into the four-storey Kennington mansion block in 1908, they spent £40 on furnishings for the flat – a couch and two armchairs, a fretwork Moorish screen lit from behind by yellow bulb in one corner, and a tasteful female nude portrait in the other.  The effect, Chaplin wrote, was ‘a combination of a Moorish cigarette shop and a French whore-house. But we loved it.’

While living there Chaplin continued touring with the Fred Karno Company before leaving for America in 1910. Disliking goodbyes, he left a note for Sydney on the table, promising to write.

Today, Glenshaw Mansions – a block that would have been relatively new when Chaplin moves in – survives much as the comedian must have known it, despite the bomb that fell just behind it during the Second World War.

The roots of Chaplin’s comedy lay in the music hall and vaudeville scene of London. The tramp’s attire mirrored the ill-fitting clothes that he wore during an impoverished childhood, while his odd pigeon-toed walk was apparently copied from a local character in Kennington. 

Other comics recognised by the Blue Plaques Scheme include the clown Joseph Grimaldi and Tommy Cooper. Here is our guide to the others.

Published: 14 Jun 2017