Owners Of Tommy Cooper's Former Home Delighted About 'Blue Plaque'

Reveal what it's like to live in the home of the legendary comedian

The owners of the house where legendary comedian Tommy Cooper lived in Chiswick have said they are very pleased that the house is to have an English Heritage Blue Plaque.

Councillor John Todd approached English Heritage with the idea but it took several years to come to fruition and was announced on Friday as part of the scheme's 150th anniversary.

The distinctive blue plaque is to be placed on the exterior of the first floor of the Barrowgate Road house in April or May, when an unveiling ceremony will be held.

Tommy Cooper's former home in Chiswick

Amanda and Noel Sharman now live there with their children Oliver and Hestor, and bought the house from Vicky Cooper, daughter of Tommy and Dove Cooper, about five years ago. They have been Chiswick residents for many years but were unaware that the house belonged to the comedian until it came up for sale.

Amanda told chiswickw4.com : "The estate agent rang me and said 'I've got a house that's got your name on it'. We were the first people to view it when it came up for sale and I knew immediately it was what I wanted. We put a bid on for the asking price straight away and Vicky accepted.

"I felt straight away that it had a lovely warm atmosphere. It was a family home for over fifty years and we haven't changed the layout too much inside. It has lots of rooms, a lovely panelled hallway, a study, a back and front sitting- room, a dining-room with a piano, where apparently Tommy Cooper used to practice his tricks. There was a shed out the back with a sauna which he used to use."

The family found lots of memorabilia in the attic including a box of tricks and old records.

She added that long-time residents of Barrowgate Road often tell her anecdotes about Tommy Cooper from his days in the house. "He was apparently very charming and always doffed his hat and bowed to the ladies when he met them in the street."

Actor David Threlfall as Tommy Cooper with Amanda Redman as Dove (pic-iTV)

The comedian was a regular at the nearby Hole In The Wall (now the Smokehouse).

Once the proposal was sent to English Heritage by Cllr Todd, a lengthy process ensued. This involved having a historian visit the house, and detailed photographs and mock-ups to decide on the best position on the exterior wall for the plaque.

An ITV drama, starring David Threlfall which was broadcast in 2014, was also partly filmed in the house.

"It's obviously a well-known house. Lots of cab drivers recognise it, and one or two have remembered dropping him home. Sometimes people ask me if it's Tommy Cooper's old house and people have even knocked on the door a few times", says Amanda.

Cllr Todd said that he felt the comedian was so well known and loved by so many people in Chiswick, that he felt it was right that he should be honoured.
"Many residents met him and he frequented many local pubs testing out jokes", he commented.

Tommy Cooper lived in Barrowgate Road with wife Gwen - known as Dove - from 1955 until the day he died in 1984 while performing live on TV at Her Majesty's Theatre. He was sixty-three.

Famous for his comedy act as a hapless and incompetent magician, the fez-wearing comedian's catchphrase was "Just Like That!"

The list of people to receive Blue Plaques in 2016 includes food writer Elizabeth David , playwright Samuel Beckett, ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn, rock star Freddie Mercury, actress Ava Gardner, and footballer Bobby Moore.

On the weekend of 7-8 May 2016, English Heritage will celebrate the scheme’s 150th anniversary with a Blue Plaques weekend of special tours. It is also launching a new Blue Plaques app which will help people to discover which of the more than 900 blue plaques is closest to them and to plot their own blue plaques tour across the capital.

The scheme was founded in 1866, by the (Royal) Society of Arts, "to increase the public estimation for places which have been the abodes of men who have made England what it is."

Anne Flaherty

February 27, 2016