English Heritage is commemorating the 150th anniversary of its Blue Plaque scheme this year by unveiling several new plaques recognising famous faces in Feltham, Chiswick, Knightsbridge and Chelsea among others.

Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury is among the list of celebrities who lived or worked in west London being honoured with a blue plaque by English Heritage .

The singer, real name Farrokh Bulsara, lived with his family in Feltham after they moved to the country from Zanzibar in 1964. He went on to study at Isleworth Polytechnic (now West Thames College) and subsequently Ealing Art College. He died in 1991 of an AIDS-related illness in Kensington aged 45.

Samuel Beckett on Boulevard St. Jacques, Paris, 1985, by John Minihan
Samuel Beckett lived in Chelsea for three years

He is one of a number of artists to receive blue plaques this year as English Heritage celebrates the 150th anniversary of the scheme, which recognises the notable lives of men and women who lived and worked in the capital.

Plaques will also be placed to honour:

  • Samuel Beckett: The Irish Nobel Prize-winning playwright and author lived in Chelsea for three years in the mid-1930s while seeking literary work and attending psychoanalysis at the Tavistock Clinic. It was during this time his first full-length work, a collection of interlinked short stories called More Pricks than Kicks, was published

  • Tommy Cooper: The much-loved fez-wearing comedian who made his name out of being a hapless magician lived in Barrowgate Road, Chiswick for 30 years, with his wife and two children, until his death on live TV in 1984

  • Ava Gardner: The screen godess lived in Ennismore Gardens , Knightsbridge for 26 years. The actress, who was nominated for an Academy Award and had short marriages with Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra, would proudly refer to her home as “her little London retreat”. She died in 1990 from pneumonia

  • Elizabeth David: Renowned as one of the finest English cookery writers of the twentieth century, she was instrumental in introducing post-war England to Mediterranean food . More than collections of recipes, her books are filled with evocative descriptions and personal memories transforming cooking from a matter of necessity to one of pleasure. She will become the first cookery writer to be commemorated with a blue plaque when it is unveiled at her Chelsea address

Blue plaques are only given to those who have been deceased for more than 20 years. The latest batch of are expected to be unveiled later this year.