Lilly Plaque

Update

by Anthony Demetris

As many readers may know I have been seeking to arrange for a memorial plaque to be erected on the site of William Lilly's home in the Strand, London. In July 2002 Westminster Council wrote to me saying that the idea was accepted in principle and forwarded me an estimate of the cost involved and a design for the wording.

I was told that all that was needed was for final approval at a Planning Committee meeting, which seemed a mere formality. That meeting was scheduled to take place around October 2002. By late November, having heard nothing, I called Westminster Council only to discover that the item hadn't been considered. Believing that approval was likely to be granted in October meant I was looking at a possible ceremony the following Spring.

By this time I had already submitted my article for publication in the January issue of the AA Journal informing members of the possibility of a May 11th (Lilly's birthday) ceremony. On explaining the urgency of situation to the council, a meeting was fixed for 23 January 2003. I was reminded that there would still be plenty of time to prepare for a spring unveiling, so there was no need to panic.

Unfortunately, what we hadn't foreseen was that one of the councillors at the meeting was to raise objections stating that astrology was a dubious practise, with no scientific foundation. A new meeting was scheduled for 6th March to review the whole scheme. Again, the matter wasn't considered on that date and it is hoped that it will be discussed at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee scheduled for 25 June 2003 before the Cabinet Member for City Development makes a final decision.

Since then John Frawley and Patrick Curry have both submitted marvellous reports in defence of William Lilly and astrology. These have been well received and will certainly go down in our favour for the next committee meeting. Westminister council state that they remain optimistic for a Sep/Oct 2003 unveiling. Readers will be informed of any new developments through Transit and the main AA website.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo 1 is the front facia of Kings College, Strand looking East and photo 2 looking West. The precise location of where Lilly's house stood is to the right of the postbox in photo , approximately where the arrow marks.

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