Dame Judy Dench Unveils A Blue Plaque For Ada Salter
Posted on 26 March 2023
Ada Salter finally has a blue plaque from English Heritage and it was unvielled by Dame Judy Dench.
The Oscar-winning actress, 88, is patron of the Salter Centenary, which in 2022 celebrated the 100th anniversary of the year the Quaker social reformer became both London’s first female mayor and Britain’s first female Labour mayor. This happened when she was elected mayor of Bermondsey in 1922.
She is commemorated with the sign by English Heritage at the Bermondsey Settlement – a social movement house founded by Methodist reformer John Scott Lidgett – which she lived in during the 1890s.
At 149 Lower Road in Rotherhithe, Mrs Salter undertook social work across what was then a deprived dockside area of south London, and became mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey.
Dame Judi, who is also a Quaker, describes Ada as ‘heroric’ and said:
“As a champion of environmentalism and the welfare of others, Ada was a force to be reckoned with. We have so much to thank her for and so much that we can still learn from her. I’m delighted to help bring this heroic woman into the public eye.”
Dame Judy Dench
Click here for YQN’s page on the life and Quaker work of Ada Salter