A dame from Croydon has had their home commemorated with a blue plaque from English Heritage.

Dame Peggy Ashcroft, who died in 1991, was born and raised in Croydon, and the charity announced on June 13 that the plaque would be placed on her childhood south Croydon home.

Blue plaques recognise famous individuals in the art world’s homes and their connections with that borough.

(Image: English Heritage)

Dame Ashcroft was once dubbed “the finest Juliet of our time” and she often spoke of her fond memories of growing up in what was once the leafy market town of Croydon.

It was while standing outside the local grocer’s shop on George Street aged 13 that she first dreamt of becoming an actress.

When she returned to Croydon in 1962 to open the theatre named after her, Ashcroft recalled the experience of watching Shakespearean productions at the Grand Theatre when she was a schoolgirl.

Dame Judi Dench said: “I met and worked with Peggy Ashcroft in 1961 in Stratford upon Avon in The Cherry Orchard. 

“She and Sir John Gielgud gave me immense encouragement and we became friends, and we remained friends throughout both their lives. 

“Not only was she a wonderful as a person but as an actress.

“She is much missed.”

Peggy Ashcroft’s son, Nicholas Hutchinson, and granddaughters, Manon and Emily Loizeau, said: “Peggy always received honours with humility and a great sense of humour, but all of us who knew her - children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews - know how very moved she would have been to see this blue plaque on her childhood family home.

“We will be imagining her here with her beloved brother Edward, running outside and laughing through the windows and we will be able to show to our own children, who didn’t know her but have heard so much about her, that this house was where she grew up, had her first dreams of going on stage, the place where it all started.”

Peggy Ashcroft played a variety of characters from Paul Robeson in Othello to her portrayal of Margaret of Anjou in John Barton’s The Wars of the Roses.

Although she was mostly a stage actress, she also plays characters on screen, such as the young crofter’s wife in The Thirty-Nine Steps to her Oscar-winning portrayal of Mrs Moore in Lean’s A Passage to India.

When asked why she continued to act, Ashcroft replied: “Well I think it’s some kind of compulsion.

“I’m compelled to do it.”

Amongst the other actors commemorated by the London Blue Plaques Scheme are many of Peggy Ashcroft’s contemporaries, including Sir John Gielgud, Paul Robeson, Dame Edith Evans, and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Recent recipients of a blue plaque include Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, Jean Muir and Dame Barbara Hepworth.