Henry Fawcett (1833 – 1884)

Salisbury Civic Society combined with Salisbury District Council to put up this plaque on the base of the statue of Henry Fawcett in Salisbury market place. The plaque is unique in that the text is also in braille. How many places can boast of plaques in braille? The plaque was an attempt to satisfy the many tourists who looked at his statue and wanted to know a little bit more about one of Salisbury’s most famous sons. Henry Fawcett was born in Salisbury in 1833. In 1858, when he was 25, he was blinded in a shooting accident. Despite his disability he went on to became Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and a Liberal MP. Appointed Postmaster General in 1880, he reformed the Post Office by introducing the sixpenny telegram; tablets on letterboxes to show collection times; a savings scheme; and postal orders. He introduced the Parcel Post service in 1883. He also campaigned for equal rights for women and married a notable suffragette. Millicent Fawcett (1847 – 1929) became the president of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and played a key role in persuading Parliament to give women the vote. She was the first woman to be commemorated by a statue in Parliament Square, London.